Perimeter and Area of Rectangles

Formulas can be used to find the

perimeter and area of rectangles.

Perimeter of Rectangle

Area of Rectangle

P 5 (2 3 <) 1 (2 3 w)
< 5 length, w 5 width

A 5 (< 3 w)
< 5 length, w 5 width
14 in.

3 in.

P 5 (2 3 <) 1 (2 3 w )

A5<3w

P 5 (2 3 14 in.) 1 (2 3 3 in.)

A 5 14 in. 3 3 in.

P 5 28 in. 1 6 in.

A 5 42 sq in.

P 5 34 in.

(square inches)

The distance around the

rectangle is 34 in.

The surface covered is

42 sq in.

Find the perimeter of each rectangle. Use the perimeter formula.

1.

13 in.

2.

3.

12 cm

3.2 m
20 cm

6 in.

8.9 m

Find the area of each rectangle. Use the area formula.

4.

7m

5.

13 cm

2.5 m

6.

2 yd
1

13 cm

Measurement VI

6 2 yd

25

Update your skills. See page 25.

13-8

Perimeter
5.1 m

Rita uses 54.6 m of fencing to enclose a play area for her

dogs. The play area is in the shape of a polygon, shown at
the right. She painted all but one side of the fence. How
12.4 m
many meters of fencing does Rita have left to paint?

18.2 m

To find how many meters of fencing left, x, write

and solve the equation:
sum of the lengths of sides

is equal to perimeter

12.4 m 1 5.1 m 1 18.2 m 1 x

54.6 m

Think
Add like units of measure.

12.4 1 5.1 1 18.2 1 x 5 54.6

35.7 1 x 5 54.6

Simplify.

35.7 2 35.7 1 x 5 54.6 2 35.7

x 5 18.9

Subtract 35.7 to isolate the variable.

Simplify.

Rita has 18.9 m of fencing left to paint.

For some polygons, you can use formulas to find perimeter.
Square or Rhombus

P 5 4s, where s 5 length of side

Rectangle

P 5 2 1 2w
or
P 5 2 ( 1 w),
where 5 length and w 5 width

Regular Polygon

P 5 ns, where n 5 number of congruent sides,

and s 5 length of one side

5
6

P 5 2 ( 1 w)
5
1
5 2 (1 6 yd 1 6 yd)

yd

P 5 5s
5 5(4.1 cm)

5 4 yd

16 yd

5 20.5 cm
4.1 cm

To find the perimeter of a more complex figure, break it down into simpler figures
and then add the lengths of its actual sides.
10 in.
4 in.

3 in.

7 in.

462 Chapter 13

Think
10 2 3 5 7

P 5 10 in. 1 (3 3 4 in.) 1 7 in. 1 (3 3 3 in.)

5 10 in. 1 12 in. 1 7 in. 1 9 in.
5 38 in.

Find the perimeter of each polygon.

5.1 m

1.

2.

3.

4.6 cm

7.5 m

20 3 yd

4. Rectangle
5 23.2 cm
w 5 8.6 cm

5. Square
1
s 5 27 4 ft

7.

8.

6. Regular heptagon
s 5 45 in.

12 m

9.

4m

2 in.
4 in.
13 in.

8m
3 in.
6m

5 in.

16 in.

Find the length of each unknown side.

10.

8 ft

11.

6.5 m

12.

3.2 m

6.5 in.

7.8 ft

4.8 m

2.8 in.

z
8.6 in.

P 5 22.8 ft

P 5 23.1 in.

5.3 m

P 5 26.6 m

13. Find the perimeter of a triangle

with sides measuring 25 mm,
2.8 cm, and 1.9 cm.

14. Find the perimeter of a quadrilateral

1
with sides measuring 9 }3} yd, 18 ft,

15. At $2.95 per foot, what is the cost of

fencing for a rectangular garden that
1
is 20 ft wide and 30 }2} ft long?

16. How many meters of fringe are

needed to border a triangular
pennant 125 cm on a side?

4 }2} yd, and 45 in.

Measure the lengths of the sides of each polygon to

1
the nearest }8} in. Then find the perimeter of each polygon.
17.

18.

Chapter 13 463

Update your skills. See page 25.

13-9

Area of Rectangles and Squares

The area of a polygon is the number of square units

that cover its surface. The square units may be square
centimeters, square meters, square inches, and so on.
Area of a Square
Area 5 side 3 side
A 5 s 3 s 5 s2

1 square unit

Area of a Rectangle
Area 5 length 3 width
A 5 < 3 w 5 <w

What is the area of a square mirror

that measures 9.5 cm on each side?

What is the area of a wall

2
1
that measures 16 }3} ft by 10 }2} ft?

First estimate: 10 cm 3 10 cm 5 100 cm 2

Then find the area.

First estimate: 17 ft 3 11 ft 5 187 ft 2

Then find the area.

A5s3s

A5,3w
9.5 cm

A 5 9.5 cm 3 9.5 cm

21

A 5 }3} ft 3 }2} ft 5 175 ft 2

1
1
Think
The area of the wall
175 ft 2 is close
is 175 ft 2.
to 187 ft 2.

Think
90.25 cm 2 is
close to 100 cm 2.

To find the area of more complex figures

divide the figure into squares and rectangles.
O Find the area of each rectangle

The dashed red lines show

how the figure can be
divided into rectangles.

and square.
Rectangle ABCI: A 5 4 m 3 8 m 5 32 m 2
Square DEJI:
A 5 (3 m) 2 5 9 m 2
Rectangle IFGH: A 5 8 m 3 2 m 5 16 m 2

4m

C
5m

O Add to find the area of the entire figure.

A 5 32

m2

19

m2

1 16

m2

5 57

Find the area of a rectangle that is 3 }4} feet by 24 inches.

464 Chapter 13

13

A5 4 32
2

E
3m

m2

Study this example.

A5<3w
1
A 5 3 }4} 3 2

16 3 ft

50

The area of the

mirror is 90.25 cm 2.

A 5 16 }3} ft 3 10 }2} ft
25

A 5 90.25 cm 2

10 12 ft

A 5 6 }2} ft 2

J
I
H

8m

F
2m
G

Rename units as feet.

24 inches 5 2 feet

Use formulas to find the areas. Estimate to help.

1.

2.

1
12

3.

yd

2 2 ft

10.3 cm
2

1
12

13.5 cm

4.

5.

7m

yd

4 in.

4 in.
1
13

2.5 m

7 3 ft

13 in.

in.
1

13 in.
2.5 m

4 in.

2.5 m

6.

7.

11 ft
4 ft
12 ft

18 in.

7 in.
6 in.

9 in.

9 ft
4 ft

12 in.

8 in.
21 in.

Draw a diagram and use a formula to solve each problem.

8. Find the total area of 8 rectangular
wooden panels if each measures
5.2 cm by 7.6 cm.

9. How many 4-in. square tiles are needed

to cover an 8 ft by 16 ft wall?
(Hint: 1 ft 2 5 144 in. 2)

10. How many square yards of carpeting 11. A rectangular floor is 7.5 ft long. It is
4 times as wide as it is long. How
are needed to cover a floor that is 9 ft
2
2
many square yards of vinyl are
wide and 15 ft long? (Hint: 9 ft 5 1 yd )
needed to cover this floor?

Find each missing dimension. Use Guess and Test.

12. Area of square: 144 in.2
Find the length of a side.
s 3 s 5 12 in. 3 12 in. 5 144 in.2

s 5 12 in.
s 3

13. Area of square: 625 cm 2

Find the length of a side.
14. Area of rectangle: 276 m 2
Width 5 12 m
Find the length.

Chapter 13 465

13-10

Area of Triangles and Parallelograms

Robin discovered the area formulas for triangles and

parallelograms using the area of a rectangle.
Right Triangle
w

The base (b) and the height (h) of the

right triangle correspond to the length
and the width of the rectangle.
Think
The area of the right triangle is
half the area of the rectangle.

h 5 3 cm

,
b 5 4 cm

Area of Triangle: A 5 }2} 3 b 3 h

A 5 }2} 3 b 3 h
A5

1
}}
2

4
}}
1

A 5 }2} bh

cm 3 }1} cm

Any side of a triangle can serve

as the base.
The height is the length of the
perpendicular segment from the
base to the opposite vertex.

A 5 6 cm2

height

base

base

Parallelogram
h

h = 3 cm
b = 5 cm

A5b3h
A 5 5 cm 3 3 cm
A 5 15 cm2

466 Chapter 13

height

height
base

The base (b) and the height (h) of the

parallelogram correspond to the length
and the width of the rectangle.
Think
The area of the parallelogram is
equal to the area of the rectangle.
Area of Parallelogram: A 5 b 3 h
A 5 bh

Any side of a parallelogram can

serve as the base.

Find the area of each triangle.

1.

2.

6 cm

3.

4.

30 cm

2 yd

12 cm

8 ft

5 yd
8 cm

10 ft

Find the area of each parallelogram.

5.

6.

7.

8.
4

12 in.

3 cm

15 mm

15 yd
7.5 mm

18 in.

4 cm

13 yd

Find the area of each triangle and parallelogram to complete each table.
Area of Triangle

Area of Parallelogram

9.

Base
10 ft

Height
5 ft

Area
?

10.

8.4 m

5.1 m

11.

5 }2} yd

9 yd

12.

Base
4 cm

Height
6 cm

Area
?

13.

8.1 m

12 m

14.

6 }3} ft

3 ft

15. Find the area of a triangular

traffic sign with a base of 40 cm
and height of 60 cm.

16. Find the area of a parallelogram-shaped

pennant with a base of 2 yd and height
of 15 ft.

17. The area of a parallelogram is

24 in.2 and the height is 8 in.
Find the length of the base.

18. An isosceles right triangle has

area of 98 cm2. Find the length of
each leg.

19. Find the length and width of a rectangle that has an area of
64 ft 2, with the least perimeter possible. Explain how you found
your answer.

Chapter 13 467

13-11

Area of Trapezoids

Two congruent trapezoids put together, as in the figure below, form a parallelogram.
(b 2) 3 cm

(b 1) 5 cm

(h) 4 cm

(b 1) 5 cm

Notice that:
the original trapezoid has 2 bases: the
lower base, b1, and the upper base, b2.
the height, h, is a perpendicular line
segment connecting the 2 parallel bases.
by rotating the original trapezoid 180,
you can form a parallelogram.

(b 2) 3 cm

Area of parallelogram 5 bh
5 (b1 1 b 2 ) h

Substitute (b1 1 b 2) for b.

The area of the original trapezoid is

one half the area of the parallelogram.
So, the area of a trapezoid 5 }12} (b1 1 b2) h.

The formula for the area of a trapezoid:

Area 5 }12} 3 (base1 1 base2 ) 3 height
A 5 }12} (b1 1 b 2 ) h

To find the area of the trapezoid above:

1

A 5 }} (b1 1 b 2) h
2

1
A 5 }} (5 cm 1 3 cm) 4 cm
2

Substitute b1 5 5 cm, b 2 5 3 cm, and h 5 4 cm.

A 5 }} (8 cm) 4 cm
2
1

A 5 16 cm2
Study these examples.
15 in.

8m

5 in.
70 dm

25 in.

9m

A 5 }} (b1 1 b 2 ) h
2

A 5 }} (25 in. 1 15 in.) 5 in.

2

20

1
0
A 5 }} 3 }4}
3 }5}
2

1
A 5 }} (b1 1 b 2 ) h
2

1
A 5 }} (9 m 1 8 m) 7 m
2

A 5 }} (17 m) 7 m
2

A 5 100 in.2

468 Chapter 13

A 5 59.5 m 2

Think
Rename
70 dm as
meters.
70 dm 5 7 m

Find the area of each trapezoid.

1.

21 yd

9 ft

2.

3.

9 cm

4 yd
11 cm

12 ft

12 yd

17 cm

12 ft

4.

1.6 in.

5.

6.
14 mm

1.1 in.
16 mm

21 mm

11 1 ft

9 2 ft

3.4 in.
8 ft

7. Danica makes a quilt in the shape of a

trapezoid. The longer base is 15 ft long
and the shorter base is 12 ft long. The
height is 8 ft. The quilt cost her $0.65
per square foot to make. How much
did it cost Danica to make the quilt?

9. A trapezoid has a shorter base that is

19 in. long and a longer base that is
23 in. long. The area of the trapezoid
is 105 in.2 What is the height of the
trapezoid?

8. Les builds a patio in the shape of a

trapezoid. The parallel bases are 14 ft
and 16 ft long. The distance between
the bases (the height) is 13 ft. The
patio cost $1.25 per square foot. How
much did it cost Les to make his patio?

10. A trapezoid has a shorter base that

measures 6.2 cm and a longer base
that measures 7.5 cm. The area of
the trapezoid is 30.14 cm 2. What is
the height of the trapezoid?

Find the simple interest, l, for each loan.

11. $2000 at 3% for 2 years

12. $9400 at 5% for 3 years

13. $7500 at 4.5% for 3 years

14. $7080 at 6% for 5 years

15. $38,000 at 7% for 9 years

16. $85,500 at 3.9% for 7 years

Chapter 13 469