Math is Fun
Bookmark Add to favorites
link Link here
Math is Fun HomeHome





Top-rated teacher Web sites rated by teacher usage
Edunet site of the week January 2001
Maths Is Fun is ICRA Registered

Copyright © 2010
MathsIsFun.com

Area

The size of a surface!

Area is the amount of space inside the boundary of a flat object (such as a square or circle).

Example:

These shapes all have the same area of 9:

same area

Area of Plane Shapes

There are special formulas for certain shapes:

Example: What is the area of this rectangle?

Area Count

The formula is:

Area = w × h
w =width
h = height

The breadth is 5, and the height is 3, so we know w = 5 and h = 3. So:

Area = 5 × 3 = 15

Read Area of Plane Shapes for more information.

Finding Area by Counting Squares

You can count the number of squares to find an area.

Area Count
This rectangle has an area of 15

If each square was 1 cm on a side, then the area would be 15 cm2 (15 square cm)

 

The squares may not match the shape exactly, so you will need to "approximate" an answer.

One way is:

  • more than half a square counts as 1
  • less than half a square counts as 0

Like this:

Area Count
This pentagon has an area of approximately 17

Or just use your eyes and count a whole square when the areas seem to add up, like with this circle, where the area marked "4" seems equal to about 1 whole square (also for "8"):

Area Count
This circle has an area of approximately 14