A cube has 6 sides 1. a front side 2. a back side 3. a left side 4. a right side 5. a top side 6. a bottom side Every one of those 6 sides is a 4cm by 4cm square, and its area is (4cm)×(4cm) = 16cm² Since there are 6 sides and each one of them has area 16cm², The area of them all, which is the surface area of the cube, is 6 times 16cm² = 96cm² Edwin