The document contains questions and examples about calculating the surface area and lateral area of prisms and cylinders. It defines surface area as the total area of the outer surface of a solid figure, including both lateral and end areas. Lateral area refers specifically to the area of the figure's sides or lateral faces, and is always less than or equal to the surface area. Sample problems are provided to demonstrate how to calculate the lateral and surface areas of various prisms and cylinders using common formulas.