lesson will allow you to work out some area problems on your own.

Definition of Area
The mathematical term 'area' can be defined as the amount of two-dimensional space taken up by
an object. The use of area has many practical applications in building, farming, architecture, science,
and even deciding how much paint you need to paint your bedroom. The area of a shape can be
determined by placing the shape over a grid and counting the number of squares that the shape
covers, like in this image:

Area can be determined using a grid.

The area of many common shapes can be determined using certain accepted formulas. Let's take a
look at the most common formulas for finding area.

Area Formulas
To find the area of a rectangle, you use this formula:
Area = length * width
The area of a square is found with this formula:
Area = s2, where s = side
The formula for the area of a triangle is:
Area = (1/2) b * h, where b = base and h = height
To find the area of a circle, use this formula:
Area = pi * r2, where r = radius
The area of a parallelogram is found using this formula:
Area = b * h, where b = base and h = vertical height
The formula for the area of a trapezoid is:
Area = (1/2) * (a + b) * h, where a =base 1, b = base 2, and h = vertical height
An ellipse's area is found this way:
Area = pi * a * b, where a = radius of major axis and b = area of minor axis

Units of Area
Finding the area of a shape always requires the multiplication of two lengths. In a square, it's side
multiplied by side. In a circle, it's the radius squared. For an ellipse, it's the radius of the major axis
multiplied by the radius of the minor axis. Due to this, the units given to area will always be squared
(feet squared, inches squared, etc.). Anything multiplied to itself is squared, whether it is a number
or not.

Finding the Area Example Problems

Let's practice finding the area with some example problems.
What is the area of a square with side length of 5 inches?
Remember, the formula for finding the area of a square is A = s2. The sides of this particular square
are 5 inches. Plug that into the formula to get A = 52 = 25 in2.
What is the area of this parallelogram?

Parallelogram for example problem

Remember, the formula is A = b * h. So, for this example, the area would be A = 3 * 12 = 36 mm2.

Finding the Area of Uncommon Shapes

If you are asked to find the area of an uncommon shape, it can be done by breaking the shape into
more common shapes, finding the area of those shapes, and then adding the areas together. Let's
look at some examples:
Find the area of this shape:
 Shape for example problem

The first step to solving this problem is to divide the shape into shapes we can find the area of
easily. This shape can be divided into a triangle and a square.

To find area, divide uncommon shapes into common ones.