Area, Perimeter, and Circumference

Rectangles and Squares

A rectangle is a figure with four sides that meet to form 90˚ angles.

A square is a rectangle with all sides the same length.

Perimeter: the distance around an object; the sum of the sides

Perimeter of a rectangle: P = 2L +2W
Perimeter of a square: P = 4s

Area: the amount of surface in an object

Area is measured in square units (in2, m2, etc.)
Only the units are squared, not the number (so don’t square your answer).

Area of a rectangle: Area = length ∙ width

A = LW

Parallelograms
A parallelogram is a four-sided figure with opposite sides parallel.
 Opposite sides are the same length.

Area of a Parallelogram: A = bh where b = base

h = height (perpendicular to base)
Trapezoids
A trapezoid is a four-sided figure with one pair of parallel sides.

b1

hh

b2

Area of a Trapezoid: A = ½ ∙(b1 + b2)∙h b1 & b2 are the parallel sides (bases)
h is the height
Triangles
A triangle is a figure with exactly three sides.

Area of a Triangle: A = ½∙ b∙h b = base

h = height (perpendicular to the base)
Circles
A circle is a two-dimensional figure with all points the same distance from a fixed center point.
 The radius (indicated by the letter “r”) is the distance from the center of the circle to
any point on the circle.
 The diameter (indicated by the letter “d”) is the distance from one side of the circle
to the other, passing through the center.

r d

d
* Note: d=2·r or r
2

The distance around the edge of a circle is its circumference.

 Circumference is like perimeter.
Circumference of a circle: C  2  r or C   d
  3.14
Area of a circle: A   r2