The surface area of a cube is (2 x length x width) + (2 x width x height) + (2 x length x height):

sa = 2lw + 2wh + 2lh
sa = (2 x 3 x 9) + (2 x 9 x 8) + (2 x 3 x 8)
sa = (54) + (144) + (48)
sa = 246

The Pythagorean theorem defines the relationship between the side lengths of a right triangle. The length of the hypotenuse squared (c²) is equal to the sum of the two perpendicular sides squared (a² + b²): c² = a² + b² or, solved for c, \(c = \sqrt{a + b}\)

The slope of this line is the change in y divided by the change in x. The endpoints of this line segment are at (-2, -6) and (2, 0) so the slope becomes:

An equation is two expressions separated by an equal sign. The key to solving equations is to repeatedly do the same thing to both sides of the equation until the variable is isolated on one side of the equal sign and the answer on the other.

The first step to solve a quadratic expression that's not set to zero is to solve the equation so that it is set to zero:

b² - 3b - 6 = b - 1
b² - 3b - 6 + 1 = b
b² - 3b - b - 5 = 0
b² - 4b - 5 = 0

Next, factor the quadratic equation:

b² - 4b - 5 = 0
(b + 1)(b - 5) = 0

For this expression to be true, the left side of the expression must equal zero. Therefore, either (b + 1) or (b - 5) must equal zero:

If (b + 1) = 0, b must equal -1
If (b - 5) = 0, b must equal 5

So the solution is that b = -1 or 5