Perimeter, area, volume JBH 2011

TOPIC 3 PERIMETER, AREA AND VOLUME

Introduction
When you think of the size of a line, you measure its length and perimeter. When
you think of the size of a 2-dimensional surface, you measure its area. When you
think of the size of a 3-dimensional space, you measure its volume. Apart from
length, area and volume as well as perimeter are three other attributes closely
related to 2-dimensional shapes and 3-dimensional space. hus, this topic focuses
on helping you to understand the basic concepts related to these three attributes.
Learning Outcomes
!y the end of this topic, you will be able to"
#. understand the concept of perimeter, area and volume$
2. understand the concept of measuring units for area and volume$
3. solve problems involving perimeter, area and volume.
3. Perimeter and Area
What is perimeter% What is area% Write down your ideas.
he perimeter of a region is the !engt" o# its $oundar% whreas its area refers to the
amount o# sur#ace inside the given boundary. &ou have to take note that a region is
a closed figure. 'n other words, you can only measure the perimeter and area of
closed shapes. (igure #)a*, )b* and )c* show e+amples of closed shapes. ,ote that
all these shapes have the same perimeter of #2 units but have different areas.
area = 8 square units area = 5 square units area = 9 square units
)a* )b* )c*
Figure 1. -losed shapes with the same perimeter but different areas.
#.
Perimeter, area, volume JBH 2011
(igure 2)a*, )b* and )c* show more e+amples of closed shapes. ,ote that these
shapes have different perimeters, but the same area of #2 units.
perimeter = 14 units perimeter = 1 units perimeter = 20 units
)a* )b* )c*
Figure 2. -losed shapes with the same area but different perimeters.
After knowing the meaning of perimeter and area, you naturally will want to know
how these two attributes are measured. &ou should realise that perimeter is a
special kind of length. hus the measuring units #or &erimeter are t"e same as
!engt". /owever, you may need to spend a little bit more time to think about the
measuring units for area.
Measuring Perimeter of Polygons
he perimeter of a polygon can be found easily if you know the lengths of all its
sides. able # shows the formulae to find the perimeter of some common polygons
0uickly.
!a"le 1
Perimeter o# $ommon Pol%gons
1olygon 1erimeter
20uilateral triangle
with sides of length s
3s
30uare
with sides of length s
4s
5hombus
with sides of length s
4s
5ectangle
with sides of lengths a and "
2a 6 2"
#7
S S
S
a a
b
b
s
s
s
s
Perimeter, area, volume JBH 2011
!a"le 1 &$ont'()
Perimeter o# $ommon Pol%gons
1olygon 1erimeter
1arallelogram
with sides of lengths a and "
2a 6 2"
8ite
with sides of lengths a and "
2a 6 2"
-ircle with radius r 2

r
&ou must take note that the perimeter of a circle is given a special name
circumference. 'n every circle, the ratio of the circum#erence - to the diameter d,
namely
(
$
, is a constant, called

. 3o, $ 9

( 9 2

r*
Measuring Area of Polygons
o measure the area of a suface, you need a new type of unit, one that can be used
to co'er a sur#ace. he area of a surface will be the number of units it takes to
cover it. heoretically, any shape can be used as a unit for measuring area.
/owever, s(uares have been found to be the most con'enient s"a&es for
measuring area. 'f we use the s0uare in (igure 3)a* as the unit s0uare, then the area
of the triangle in (igure 3)b* is : s0uare unit. 3imilarly, the area of the shaded
region in (igure 3)c* is ; s0uare units, because it can be covered by 4 s0uares and 2
half-s0uares.
2<
b
b
a
a
r
Perimeter, area, volume JBH 2011
)a* )b* )c*
(igure 3. A s0uare as the measuring unit of area.
he metric units for measuring area will depend on the unit of length used for the unit
s0uare. 3o, # s(uare metre )written as m
2
* is a s0uare whose sides have lengths of
# metre. 3imilarly, # s(uare centimetre )# cm
2
* is a s0uare whose sides have
lengths of # centimetre. (igure 4 illustrates the ideas of # m
2
and # cm
2
.
(igure 4. =ne s0uare metre and one s0uare centimetre.
/ow many cm
2
e0ual # m
2
%
/ow many mm
2
e0ual # cm
2
%
/ow many m
2
e0ual # km
2
%
2#
# s0uare metre )m
2
*
# m
# m
# cm
# cm
# s0uare
centimetre
)cm
2
*
Perimeter, area, volume JBH 2011
'>!'
2stimate the area of the cat in terms of s0uare units.
he area of a polygon can be found by counting the num$er o# s(uare units
re(uired to co'er it com&!ete!%. 'n (igure ;, the number of s0uare units re0uired to
cover the rectangle can be easily found by multiplying the lengths of its two sides, 4 +
3. hus, the area + of of a rectangle with sides of lengths a and " is + 9 a".
Area 9 #2 unit s0uares Area 9 a"
3 "
4 a
(igure ;. Area of a rectangle.
=nce you understand how the area of a rectangle is calculated, then you will be able
to use this knowledge to find the area of most other polygons easily.
Area of a square. 3ince a s0uare is a special type or rectangle, so you can easily
deduce that the area + of a s0uare whose sides have length s is + 9 s
2
as shown in
(igure ?.

Figure . Area of a s0uare.
Area of a triangle. he area of a triangle can be obtained from the formula to find
the area of a rectangle. As illustrated in (igure @, the area + of the triangle A!- is
half the area of the rectangle A!->. 3o, it is obvious that A 9 : ",.
22
s
s
Area o# s(uare ) s * s ) s
+
Perimeter, area, volume JBH 2011

Area o# A,C ) - * Area o# A,CD ) - bh
Figure -. Area of a triangle.
/ow would you show that the area of each of these triangles is : ", %
Area of a parallelogram. 3imilar to the area of a triangle, the area of a
parallelogram can also be obtained from the formula for finding the area of a
rectangle. As illustrated in (igure ., the area + of the parallelogram A!-> with base
" and height , is e0ual to the area of the rectangle !-,A . 3o, it is obvious that the
area A 9 ",.

Area o# A,CD ) Area o# ,CMN ) bh
Figure 8. Area of a parallelogram.
23
,
"
,
"
A
!
-
>
A
,
"
A
! -
> ,
,
"
A
! -
>
Perimeter, area, volume JBH 2011
Area of a trapezoid. 3uppose that you have a trapezoid 1B53 whose bases have
lengths a and " and whose height is ,, the distance between the parallel bases. &ou
may play a simple trick on the trapezoid. >uplicate another trapezoid and turn it #.<
o
as shown in (igure 7 in order to form a parallelogram.

Area of 1A,3 9 )a 6 "*,
Area o# P.R/ ) - * Area o# PMN/ ) - 0a 1 b2h
Figure 9. Area of a trapezoid.
As you can see, the figure 1A,3 is a parallelogram with base )a 6 "* and height ,.
3ince 1B53 is : of 1A,3, then the area of 1B53 9 : )a6"*,*
Area of a circle. 3uppose you have a circle whose radius is r as shown in (igure
#<. /ow do you find the area of the circle% As you have noticed, the area of each
s0uare is r
2
. he area of the circle is !ess t"an 3 times r
2
. A good estimation for
the area of the circle is 3.34 times r
2
. he value 3.#4#? is an estimation for the
value of , a very special and famous constant in mathematics.
Area of circle C 4 + )r
2
*
Area o# circ!e 3.34 r
+
) r
+
Figure 10. Area of a circle.
24
b
a
h
3
1 B
5
b
a
h
3
1 B
5
b
a
b
a
h
3
1 B
5
b
a
A
,
r
r
A
!
-
>
2
(
D
Perimeter, area, volume JBH 2011
E*ercise
#. 2+plain why the perimeter of A!-> in the figure below cannot be
calculated.
2. Diven that 1B53 is a rectangle and AB 9 B5 9 7 cm. -alculate the
perimeter and area of the shaded region A,5B.
3. 'n the figure below, !(D- is a s0uare with sides #< cm long. A!-> is a
parallelogram. Diven that A! 9 #3 cm , calculate the perimeter and area
for the whole figure.
4. 'n the figure below, A!-> is a rectangle and 2(D is a semicircle with a
radius of @ cm. Diven that A! 9 2< cm and !- 9 #; cm. -alculate the
perimeter and area of the shaded region.
2;
? cm
!
-
>
A
. cm
#< cm
@ cm
1
B
5
3
A
,
#2 cm
; cm
(
A
! -
>
D
Perimeter, area, volume JBH 2011
E*ercise 0Cont5d2
;. 'n the figure below, A!2( is a parallelogram and !->2 is a trapezoid.
-alculate the perimeter and area of
a* A!2(
b* he whole figure.
ime to take your tidbit and rela+E
-ome back again to learn more about volume.
'>!'
he Dreat 1yramid of 2gypt was completed in 2;.< !.-.
and is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. 'ts
original height was #4?.; m and the base was 23< m
s0uare. 't contains about ;.. million tonnes of
sandstones blocks. 't is still standing today.
What is the volume of this pyramid%
)>uffy, Aurty F Aottershead, #7.7, p.#4@*
3.+ Vo!ume
What is volume% Write down your ideas.

2?
A
(
!
-
>
2
#;cm
#2cm
?cm
#<cm
Perimeter, area, volume JBH 2011
he volume of a three-dimensional figure is a measure of the amount o# s&ace that
it occupies. o measure the amount of space, we need units that can be used to #i!!
u& a s&ace. -ubes have been found to be the most con'enient three-dimensional
figures for measuring volume because they pack together 6it"out ga&s or
o'er!a&&ing. 'f we use the cube in (igure ##)a* as the unit cube, as you can see,
the bo+ in (igure ##)b* can be filled with #2 cubes on its base and #2 more cubes
can be placed above these to fill the bo+. hus, the volume of the bo+ is 24 cubic
units.
Figure 11. A cube as the measuring unit for volume.
he metric units for measuring volume will depend on the unit of length used for the
unit cube. 3o, # cu$ic metre )written as m
3
* is a cube whose sides have lengths of #
metre. 3imilarly, # cu$ic centimetre )# cm
3
* is a cube whose sides have lengths of
# centimetre. (igure #2 illustrates the ideas of # m
3
and # cm
3
.

cm
3
m
3
(igure #2. =ne cubic metre and one cubic centimetre.
/ow many cm
3
e0ual # m
3
%
2@
Perimeter, area, volume JBH 2011
'>!'
/ow many small cubes make up this block%
'f the outer layer of cubes is removed, how many small
cubes are left in the smaller block%
)>aly, et al., #774, p. 3.4*
he volume of a 3-dimensional shape )or solid* can be found by counting the number
of unit cubes re0uired to fill its space compeletely. 'n (igure #3, the number of
centimetre cubes re0uired to fill the cuboid can be easily found by multiplying its
length with its breadth and its height, 2< cm + #< cm + ? cm 9 #2<< cm
3
. hus, the
volume . of a cuboid with length l, breadth b, and height h is . 9 lbh.
Golume 9 2< cm + #< cm + ? cm 9 # 2<< cm
3
Golume 9 l + b + h
(igure #3. Golume of a cuboid.
Volume of a prism. -uboid is a rectangular &rism. &ou should have notice that the
number of unit cubes that cover the base of the prism is the same as the area of the
base. herefore, the volume of the prism can be calculated by multiplying the area of
the base by the height of the prism. 'n general, the volume of any right prism can be
computed by the formula Golume of prism 9 area of base + height. (igure #4 shows
some e+amples of prisms.
2.
l
b
h
Perimeter, area, volume JBH 2011
Vo!ume ) 7Area o# $ase * "eig"t8 ) B * h
(igure #4. Area of prisms.
Volume of a pyramid. /ow do you find the the volume of a pyramid% he answer
lies in knowing the relationship between the pyramid and the smallest prism
containing it. (igure #; shows the relationship of a s0uare pyramid with the smallest
prism )a cube* containing it. As you can see, the prism can be divided into three
congruent s0uare pyramids. /ence, the volume of a pyramid is one9t"ird of the
smallest prism containing it.
Vo!ume o# &%ramid )
3
#
* 'o!ume o# t"e sma!!est &rism containing it
)
3
#
* area o# $ase * "eig"t
Figure 15. Golume of a s0uare pyramid.
3imilarly, we will e+pect the area of a cone, which is a circular pyramid to e0ual to
3
#

of the volume of the smallest prism )a cylinder* containing it as shown in (igure #?.
Vo!ume o# cone )
3
#
* 'o!ume o# c%!inder
(igure #?. he volume of a cone.
27
B
h
B
h
B
h
Perimeter, area, volume JBH 2011
Volume of a sphere. he volume of a sphere is t6o9t"ird the volume of the
smallest cylinder containing the sphere as shown in (igure #@.
Golume of cylinder = ( r
2
) + h = ( r
2
) + 2r = 2r
3

Vo!ume o# s&"ere )
3
2
* 'o!ume o# c%!inder )
3
2
* +r
3
)
3
4
r
3
(igure #@. Golume of a sphere.
E*ercise +
#. he figure on the right shows a
solid obHect formed from a combination
of a hemisphere and a cylinder. he
radius of the hemisphere is @ cm.
Ising
@
22
9 ,
-alculate the volume of the solid
obHect.
2. he figure below shows a cuboid measures .cm + #<cm + #<cm. A
pyramid was taken out from the cuboid.
-alculate the volume of the remaining solid.
3<
#< cm
#< cm
7 cm
h
@ cm
@ cm
Perimeter, area, volume JBH 2011
ime for dessert and rela+E
3#
E*ercise 3 0Cont5d2
3. he figure shows a cylinder with a radius of @ cm. wo identical cones
were taken out as shown in the figure below.
aking and calculate the volume of the remaining solid.
4. he figure below shows a wooden craft formed from a
combination of two pyramids with s0uare bases and a cube with each
side measuring ; cm.
-alculate the volume of the solid.
#2 cm
7 cm
; cm
? cm
Perimeter, area, volume JBH 2011
>23325
he area of the inscribed s0uare is what percent of the area of the circle%
)!ennett F ,elson, 2<<4, p.?@;*
/ummar%
#. he perimeter of a region is the length of its boundary.
2. Area is the amount of 2-dimensional space inside a given boundary. A unit
s0uare is a common unit of measure for area because it is the most
convenient shape for covering a region without gaps or overlapping.
3. Golume is the amount of space occupied by a 3-dimensional shape )or solid*.
A unit cube is a common unit of measure for volume because it is the most
convenient 3-dimensional shape to fill a space without gaps or overlapping.
Re#erences
!ennett, A. !. Jr. F ,elson, . K. )2<<4*. /at,emati0s #or elementar% tea0,ers* +
0on0eptual approa0,*
t,
e(* ,ew &ork, ,&" AcDraw /ill.
>aly, $ Ardley, J$ !uruma, J$ -ody, A$ omlinson, 1. )#774*. Aathematiacs today
&ear 7. 2
nd
ed. 5oseville, ,3W Australia" AcDraw /ill !ook.
Ausser, D. K.$ !urger, W. (. F 1eterson, !. 2. )2<<#*. /at,emati0s #or elementar%
tea0,ers* + 0ontemporar% approa0,* 5
t,
e(* ,ew &ork, ,&" John Wiley F 3ons.
32