Prealgebra · Lesson 11.6

Area

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Perimeter measured the distance around the edge. Area measures the surface inside, the flat space a figure covers, and we count that space in unit squares. Rectangles come first, since their squares line up in neat rows and columns. Then triangles, which turn out to be half a rectangle. Then figures built from several shapes at once.

Problem
85
In the diagram above is a rectangle 8 units wide and 5 units tall. Find its area. Give the number of square units.
Show a hint
  • A rectangle's area is its length times its width. Read both side lengths off the diagram above.
  • Multiply the width by the height, \(8 \times 5\).
Show the full solution
The area of a rectangle is its length times its width. Reading the two sides off the diagram above, $$A = l \times w = 8 \times 5 = \boxed{40}.$$ The area is 40 square units.
Problem
77
In the diagram above is a square with side 7. Find its area. Give the number of square units.
Show a hint
  • A square's area is its side times itself, \(s^2\). Read the side length off the diagram.
  • The side is 7, so square it. \(7 \times 7\).
Show the full solution
A square's area is the side squared, \(A = s^2\). Here the side is 7, so $$A = 7^2 = \boxed{49}.$$ The area is 49 square units.
Problem
9?
In the diagram above is a rectangle with length \(9\) and an unknown width. Its area is \(72\). Find the width. Give the number of units.
Show a hint
  • A rectangle's area is length times width. You know the area and the length, so you're missing one factor.
  • To undo the multiplication, divide the area by the length you know.
Show the full solution
The area of a rectangle is \(l \times w\), so \(9 \times w = 72\). To find the missing width, divide the area by the length. $$w = \frac{72}{9} = 8$$ The width is \(\boxed{8}\).
Problem
??
The diagram above is a square whose area is \(81\). Find the length of one side. Give the number of units.
Show a hint
  • A square's area is its side times itself, so the side is the number that gives \(81\) when multiplied by itself.
  • Ask which number times itself is \(81\). That is \(\sqrt{81}\).
Show the full solution
A square's area is the side times itself, so to undo that we take the square root of the area. $$s = \sqrt{81} = 9$$ The side is \(\boxed{9}\).
Problem
86
The diagram above shows a right triangle. The small square marks the right angle, and its two legs measure \(8\) and \(6\). Find the area of the triangle. Give the number of square units.
Show a hint
  • The two legs of a right triangle meet at the right angle, so they serve as the base and the height. Use \(A = \frac{1}{2}\times \text{base}\times \text{height}\).
  • Multiply the two legs together, then take half. Half of \(8\times 6\) is the area.
Show the full solution
The two legs are the base and the height, so $$A = \frac{1}{2}\times 8 \times 6 = \boxed{24}.$$ In a right triangle the legs already meet at a right angle, so you never have to hunt for the height.
Problem
106
In the diagram above is a triangle with base \(10\) and height \(6\) (the dashed line is the height). Find its area. Give the number of square units.
Show a hint
  • For a triangle, area is \(\frac{1}{2}\times \text{base}\times \text{height}\). Read the base and the height off the diagram.
  • Multiply the base by the height first, then take half of that.
Show the full solution
The area of a triangle is \(\frac{1}{2}\times \text{base}\times \text{height}\). The base is \(10\) and the dashed height is \(6\), so $$A = \frac{1}{2}\times 10 \times 6 = \boxed{30}.$$
Problem
149
In the diagram above is a triangle with base \(14\) and height \(9\). Find its area. Give the number of square units.
Show a hint
  • A triangle's area is half of the base times the height. Which length is the base, and which is the height straight across from it?
  • Multiply the base by the height, then take half of that product.
Show the full solution
Half the base times the height. $$A = \frac{1}{2}\times 14 \times 9 = \boxed{63}$$ The half is there because the triangle fills exactly half of the \(14\) by \(9\) rectangle drawn around it.
Problem
935346
The diagram above is an L-shaped figure with the sides marked \(9\), \(3\), \(5\), \(3\), \(4\), \(6\). Find its area. Give the number of square units.
Show a hint
  • Cut the L with one horizontal line so it becomes two rectangles stacked on each other. Find the width and height of each piece from the marked sides.
  • Work out each rectangle's area with \(l \times w\), then add the two areas together.
Show the full solution
Split the L into two rectangles and add their areas. The bottom rectangle is \(9\) wide and \(3\) tall, so it holds \(9 \times 3 = 27\). The top rectangle is \(4\) wide and \(3\) tall, so it holds \(4 \times 3 = 12\). Adding them gives $$27 + 12 = \boxed{39}.$$ You could also take the full \(9 \times 6\) box and subtract the \(5 \times 3\) notch, \(54 - 15 = 39\), which lands on the same answer.
Problem
10864
The figure above is a \(10\) by \(8\) rectangle with a right-triangular corner sliced off, the cut having legs \(6\) and \(4\) (shown dashed). Find the area of the shape that remains. Give the number of square units.
Show a hint
  • Start with the whole rectangle before anything was cut. Its area is \(10\times 8\).
  • The removed corner is a right triangle with legs \(6\) and \(4\), so its area is \(\frac{1}{2}\times 6\times 4\). Subtract that from the rectangle.
Show the full solution
The whole rectangle is \(10\times 8 = 80\). The corner sliced off is a right triangle with legs \(6\) and \(4\), so it covers \(\frac{1}{2}\times 6\times 4 = 12\). $$80 - 12 = \boxed{68}$$ When a piece has been cut away, subtracting is usually faster than chopping the leftover shape into parts.
Problem
1086 x 4
The diagram above shows a rectangular frame, a \(10\) by \(8\) outer rectangle with a \(6\) by \(4\) rectangular hole cut out of the middle. The shaded part is what remains. Find the shaded area. Give the number of square units.
Show a hint
  • Find the whole outer rectangle's area first as if the hole were not there, then deal with the hole.
  • The shaded region is the outer rectangle with the inner rectangle removed, so subtract the hole's area from the outer area.
Show the full solution
Take the big rectangle and subtract the cut-out piece. The outer rectangle has area \(10\times 8 = 80\), and the hole has area \(6\times 4 = 24\). Subtract to get what remains, $$10\times 8 - 6\times 4 = 80 - 24 = \boxed{56}.$$ The shaded area is \(56\) square units.
Problem
1262x3
In the diagram above, a \(12\) by \(6\) region is to be covered by tiles that are \(2\) by \(3\), like the shaded one. How many tiles are needed? Give the number of tiles.
Show a hint
  • The number of tiles is the region's area divided by one tile's area, so first find each area.
  • The region covers \(12\times 6\) square units and one tile covers \(2\times 3\). Divide.
Show the full solution
The region covers \(12\times 6 = 72\) square units and each tile covers \(2\times 3 = 6\). $$\frac{72}{6} = \boxed{12}$$ Tile counts are area divided by area, and that works here because the \(2\) by \(3\) tiles fit the region with no gaps or overlaps.
Problem
1264389
In the diagram above is an L-shaped room floor with the marked sides \(12\), \(6\), \(4\), \(3\), \(8\), and \(9\). Find its area so you know how much flooring to buy. Give the number of square units.
Show a hint
  • An L-shape is a full rectangle with one corner cut out. Picture the whole \(12\times 9\) rectangle it would be if the notch were filled in.
  • Find the big rectangle's area, then find the area of the missing \(4\times 3\) corner, and subtract the missing piece from the whole.
Show the full solution
Fill in the notch to make a \(12\) by \(9\) rectangle, area \(12\times 9 = 108\). The corner that was missing is \(4\) by \(3\), area \(12\). $$108 - 12 = \boxed{96}$$ Splitting the floor into two rectangles gets there too, \(12\times 6 = 72\) plus \(8\times 3 = 24\).
Problem
1064
The figure above is a house shape, a rectangle \(10\) wide and \(6\) tall, with a triangular roof of height \(4\) sitting on top. The dashed line is where the roof meets the wall. Find the total area of the whole house. Give the number of square units.
Show a hint
  • The dashed line splits the house into two shapes you already know, a rectangle below and a triangle above. Find each area on its own.
  • The roof's base is the same \(10\) as the rectangle's width, and its height is \(4\). A triangle's area is \(\frac{1}{2}\times \text{base}\times \text{height}\). Add that to the rectangle to finish.
Show the full solution
Split the house at the dashed line and add the two pieces. The rectangle below has area \(10\times 6 = 60\). The roof is a triangle with base \(10\) and height \(4\), so its area is \(\frac{1}{2}\times 10 \times 4 = 20\). Add them for the total, $$60 + 20 = \boxed{80}.$$

Practice these ideas

Practice
116
In the diagram above is a rectangle 11 wide and 6 tall. Find its area. Give the number of square units.
Show the solution
The area of a rectangle is its width times its height. Multiply the two lengths marked on the diagram, \(11\times 6 = 66\). So the area is \(\boxed{66}\) square units.
Practice
88
The diagram above shows a square with side 8. Find its area. Give the number of square units.
Show the solution
A square's area is \(s^2\), the side multiplied by itself. The side here is 8, so $$8^2 = 8 \times 8 = \boxed{64}.$$ The area is 64 square units.
Practice
15?
The rectangle in the diagram above has length \(15\) and an unknown width, and its area is \(90\) square units. Find the missing width. Give the number of units.
Show the solution
Divide the area by the length. $$\frac{90}{15} = \boxed{6}$$ The width is whatever the \(15\) gets multiplied by to reach \(90\), so dividing undoes that multiplication.
Practice
??
The diagram above shows a square with an area of \(100\) square units. Find the length of one side. Give the number of units.
Show the solution
A square with side \(s\) has area \(s^2\). Here \(s^2 = 100\), so \(s = \sqrt{100}\). Since \(10 \times 10 = 100\), the side is $$s = \sqrt{100} = \boxed{10}.$$
Practice
125
In the diagram above is a right triangle. Its two legs, the sides that meet at the square corner, are 12 and 5. Find its area. Give the number of square units.
Show the solution
Take half the product of the two legs. $$\frac{1}{2}\times 12 \times 5 = \frac{60}{2} = \boxed{30}$$ The legs are already perpendicular, so one is the base and the other is the height with no extra work.
Practice
165
The diagram above shows a triangle with base 16 and height 5. Find its area. Give the number of square units.
Show the solution
A triangle's area is half its base times its height. The diagram gives a base of 16 and a height of 5, so $$\frac{1}{2}\times 16 \times 5 = 40.$$ The area is \(\boxed{40}\) square units.
Practice
98
The diagram above shows a triangle with base 9 and height 8. Find its area. Give the number of square units.
Show the solution
Half the base times the height. $$\frac{1}{2}\times 9 \times 8 = \frac{72}{2} = \boxed{36}$$ Multiplying the two numbers first and halving at the end keeps the arithmetic in whole numbers.
Practice
845337
The diagram above shows an L-shaped figure with sides \(8\), \(4\), \(5\), \(3\), \(3\), \(7\). Find its area. Give the number of square units.
Show the solution
Split the L into two rectangles. The bottom one is \(8\times 4 = 32\), and the narrow part sitting on top of it is \(3\times 3 = 9\). $$32 + 9 = \boxed{41}$$ Subtracting works too. The full \(8\times 7\) box is \(56\) and the notch is \(5\times 3 = 15\), and \(56 - 15 = 41\).
Practice
9864
The diagram above shows a rectangle 9 by 8 with a right-triangular corner sliced off, the two legs of the cut measuring 6 and 4. Find the area of the shape that remains. Give the number of square units.
Show the solution
Take the full rectangle and subtract the triangle that was cut away. The rectangle is \(9\times 8 = 72\). The removed corner is a right triangle with legs 6 and 4, so its area is \(\frac{1}{2}\times 6\times 4 = 12\). What is left is $$72 - 12 = \boxed{60}$$
Practice
1082x2
The diagram above shows a \(10\) by \(8\) region covered by \(2\) by \(2\) square tiles, with no gaps or overlaps. How many tiles cover the whole region? Give the number of tiles.
Show the solution
The region is \(10\times 8 = 80\) square units and each tile is \(2\times 2 = 4\). $$\frac{80}{4} = \boxed{20}$$ Dividing area by area gives the tile count whenever the tiles fit with no gaps or overlaps.
Practice
1298 x 5
The diagram above shows a rectangular frame, a \(12\) by \(9\) rectangle with an \(8\) by \(5\) rectangular hole cut out of it. Find the shaded area of the frame. Give the number of square units.
Show the solution
The shaded frame is the big rectangle with the hole taken out, so take the big area and subtract the hole. The outer rectangle is \(12\times 9 = 108\), and the hole is \(8\times 5 = 40\). Subtracting gives $$108 - 40 = \boxed{68}.$$
Practice
1163288
The diagram above shows an L-shaped patio with sides \(11\), \(6\), \(3\), \(2\), \(8\), \(8\). Find its area. Give the number of square units.
Show the solution
Fill in the notch to make a full rectangle, then subtract the piece you added. The whole rectangle is \(11\times 8 = 88\), and the missing corner is \(3\times 2 = 6\). So the patio is $$88 - 6 = \boxed{82}.$$ The area is 82 square units.
Practice
853
The figure above is a house shape, a rectangle \(8\) wide and \(5\) tall with a triangular roof of height \(3\) on top. Find the total area. Give the number of square units.
Show the solution
Split the house into the rectangle and the triangular roof, then add the two areas. The rectangle is \(8\times 5 = 40\). The roof has base \(8\) and height \(3\), so its area is \(\frac{1}{2}\times 8\times 3 = 12\). Adding them, $$40 + 12 = \boxed{52}$$ The total area is \(52\) square units.