How to Calculate the Area of an Oval

We'll use this oval in the explanation.

Race tracks, serving platters, and planetary orbits are all ovals, and sometimes you need to know the area. Ovals, and all ellipses, have a standard formula for finding the area. All you need to do is make a few measurements and perform the calculation. Knowing some terms can help, but if you can remember long and short, you'll be just fine.

Things You'll Need

• Ruler
• Calculator

Instructions

1. Calculate the semi-major axis. The semi-major axis is half of the major (or longest) axis. Measure the longest axis and divide by two. In our example, the major access is along the x-axis and is 12 units. Dividing by two gives us six.

2. Calculate the semi-minor axis. The semi-minor axis is half of the minor (or shortest) axis. Measure the shortest axis and divide by two. In our example, the minor access is along the y-axis and is four units. Dividing by two gives us two.

3. Multiply the semi-major, semi-minor, and pi together. The answer is the area. In our example, 6 x 2 x 3.14(pi) gives us 37.68 square units.

Tips & Warnings

• The measurements can be in any units (inches, feet, meters) as long as they are the same.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish