How to Find the Area of Geometric Shapes

The area of a geometric shape is represented by how many square units cover the shape entirely. A formula is used to find the area of geometric figures. The area of geometric shapes is always written in units squared.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Identify the name of the shape (square, rectangle, circle) you want to find the area of.

2. Find the formula used to calculate the area of your identified shape. For example, the formula for finding the area of a rectangle is: Area of a rectangle=lw, where l=length and w=width.

3. Utilize the formula to find the area. For example, if l= 3 cm and w=6 cm, then lw=18 cm.

4. Write your answer in units squared. If 18 cm is the answer, then the area is 18 cm-2.

Tips & Warnings

• Commonly Used Area Formulas:
• Area of a square=s-2, where s=side
• Area of a rectangle=lw, where l=length and w=width.
• Area of a circle=r-2, where r=radius
• Area of a parallelogram=bh, where b=base and h=height of the altitude
• Area of a triangle=1/2bh, where b=base and h=height of the altitude
• Area of a trapezoid=1/2h(b(1)+b(2)), where h=height of the altitude, b(1)=one of the bases, and b(2)=the other base
• Note: A with the shape written as a subscript is usually how areas of shapes are denoted (Asquare). In the area formula for the trapezoid, the numbers in b(1)+b(2) are usually written as a subscript also.

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