Area · Year 9

In Year 9 you learn: units of area.

Area is the amount of flat space a shape covers, measured in square units such as cm² and m². Count the squares, or use the formula for the shape; a compound shape splits into simpler shapes.

Key facts

  • Trapezium: area = ½ × (a + b) × h, where a and b are the parallel sides.

Worked examples

Example 1

A trapezium has parallel sides of 6 cm and 10 cm and a height of 5 cm. Find its area.

Answer: 40 cm²

Example 2

A trapezium has an area of 36 cm² and parallel sides of 5 cm and 7 cm. Find its height.

Answer: 6 cm

Example 3

A circle has a radius of 5 cm. Find its area to 1 decimal place.

Answer: 78.5 cm²

Example 4

Find the area of a parallelogram with a base of 8 cm and a perpendicular height of 5 cm.

Answer: 40 cm²

Example 5

A trapezium has parallel sides of 7 cm and 11 cm and a height of 4 cm. Find its area.

Answer: 36 cm²

Example 6

A right-angled triangle with shorter sides 4 cm and 3 cm is cut from a rectangle 12 cm by 5 cm. Find the area left.

Answer: 54 cm²

Other years