Area of a rectangle
You learn to find the area: how many square units fit on a shape.
How to work it out
- Multiply length by width.
- Write the unit with square notation: m² or cm².
A worked example
A rectangle is 3 m long and 2 m wide. What is the area?
- Multiply length and width: 3 × 2 = 6.
- The area is 6 m².
More examples
A square has sides of 4 cm. What is the area?
- Multiply the two sides: 4 × 4 = 16.
- The area is 16 cm².
A triangle has a base of 5 cm and a height of 4 cm. What is the area?
- Use the formula: base times height divided by 2.
- 5 × 4 = 20.
- Divide by 2: 20 ÷ 2 = 10.
- The area is 10 cm².
Watch out
You add instead of multiply: 3 + 2 = 5.
The area is length times width: 3 × 2 = 6.
Tips
- For a rectangle with length L and width W, the area is L × W.
- For a square with side S, the area is S × S.
Why it works
The area is the space inside a shape. You work it out by counting how many squares fit inside it. For a rectangle you do length times width.