Area of Triangles and Quadrilaterals
Formulas for calculating area
Area of Triangles and Quadrilaterals
Triangle
Basic formula: where = base, = height (perpendicular to base)
Heron's Formula (when you know all three sides): where (semi-perimeter)
Rectangle
where = length, = width
Parallelogram
where = base, = height (perpendicular distance between parallel sides)
Trapezoid
where and are the parallel bases, = height
Can also write as: or where is the midsegment
Rhombus
Method 1: (like parallelogram)
Method 2: (using diagonals)
Square
where = side length
Key Strategy
Always identify the base and perpendicular height!
📚 Practice Problems
1Problem 1easy
❓ Question:
Find the area of a triangle with base 12 cm and height 8 cm.
💡 Show Solution
Step 1: Recall the triangle area formula: Area = (1/2) × base × height
Step 2: Identify the given values: Base = 12 cm Height = 8 cm
Step 3: Substitute into the formula: Area = (1/2) × 12 × 8 Area = (1/2) × 96 Area = 48 cm²
Answer: The area is 48 cm²
2Problem 2easy
❓ Question:
Find the area of a triangle with base 10 and height 6.
💡 Show Solution
Use the formula:
Answer: 30 square units
3Problem 3easy
❓ Question:
A parallelogram has a base of 15 m and a height of 9 m. Find its area.
💡 Show Solution
Step 1: Recall the parallelogram area formula: Area = base × height
Step 2: Identify the values: Base = 15 m Height = 9 m (perpendicular distance)
Step 3: Calculate: Area = 15 × 9 Area = 135 m²
Step 4: Note: The height must be perpendicular to the base It's NOT the length of the slanted side
Answer: The area is 135 m²
4Problem 4medium
❓ Question:
A trapezoid has bases of 8 and 12, and a height of 5. Find the area.
💡 Show Solution
Use the trapezoid formula:
Answer: 50 square units
5Problem 5medium
❓ Question:
A trapezoid has bases of 10 cm and 16 cm, and a height of 7 cm. Find its area.
💡 Show Solution
Step 1: Recall the trapezoid area formula: Area = (1/2) × (base₁ + base₂) × height
Step 2: Identify the values: Base₁ = 10 cm Base₂ = 16 cm Height = 7 cm
Step 3: Substitute: Area = (1/2) × (10 + 16) × 7 Area = (1/2) × 26 × 7 Area = (1/2) × 182 Area = 91 cm²
Step 4: Alternative thinking: Average of bases = (10 + 16)/2 = 13 cm Area = average × height = 13 × 7 = 91 cm²
Answer: The area is 91 cm²
6Problem 6medium
❓ Question:
Find the area of a rhombus with diagonals of length 14 cm and 10 cm.
💡 Show Solution
Step 1: Recall the rhombus area formula: Area = (1/2) × d₁ × d₂ where d₁ and d₂ are the diagonals
Step 2: Identify the diagonals: d₁ = 14 cm d₂ = 10 cm
Step 3: Calculate: Area = (1/2) × 14 × 10 Area = (1/2) × 140 Area = 70 cm²
Step 4: Why this formula works: The diagonals of a rhombus are perpendicular They divide the rhombus into 4 right triangles Total area = sum of the 4 triangles
Answer: The area is 70 cm²
7Problem 7hard
❓ Question:
A rhombus has diagonals of length 10 and 24. Find its area.
💡 Show Solution
For a rhombus, use the diagonal formula:
Answer: 120 square units
8Problem 8hard
❓ Question:
A triangle has sides of length 13, 14, and 15. Find its area using Heron's formula.
💡 Show Solution
Step 1: Recall Heron's formula: Area = √[s(s-a)(s-b)(s-c)] where s is the semi-perimeter: s = (a+b+c)/2
Step 2: Find the semi-perimeter: a = 13, b = 14, c = 15 s = (13 + 14 + 15)/2 s = 42/2 s = 21
Step 3: Calculate (s - a), (s - b), (s - c): s - a = 21 - 13 = 8 s - b = 21 - 14 = 7 s - c = 21 - 15 = 6
Step 4: Substitute into Heron's formula: Area = √[21 × 8 × 7 × 6] Area = √[21 × 8 × 7 × 6] Area = √7056
Step 5: Simplify the square root: 7056 = 16 × 441 = 16 × 21² √7056 = 4 × 21 = 84
Step 6: Verify the calculation: 21 × 8 = 168 168 × 7 = 1176 1176 × 6 = 7056 √7056 = 84 ✓
Answer: The area is 84 square units
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