Area Math Example 3

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Example 3

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Find the area of a trapezoid with parallel sides 88 cm and 1212 cm, and height 55 cm.

Solution

  1. 1
    Step 1: Recall the trapezoid area formula: A=12(b1+b2)ร—hA = \frac{1}{2}(b_1 + b_2) \times h, where b1b_1 and b2b_2 are the parallel sides and hh is the perpendicular distance between them.
  2. 2
    Step 2: Substitute the given values: A=12(8+12)ร—5=12(20)ร—5A = \frac{1}{2}(8 + 12) \times 5 = \frac{1}{2}(20) \times 5.
  3. 3
    Step 3: Compute: A=10ร—5=50A = 10 \times 5 = 50 cmยฒ.

Answer

A=50ย cm2A = 50 \text{ cm}^2
The trapezoid area formula averages the two parallel bases and multiplies by the height. This works because a trapezoid can be split into two triangles sharing the same height, and their combined area equals half the sum of the bases times the height.

About Area

The amount of two-dimensional space inside a flat shape, measured in square units.

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