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Contributor: Meghan Vestal. Lesson ID: 10949
You are in an area surrounded by a perimeter, and you can't escape! Any room you are in has an area and perimeter. Don't be a square! Learn the right way to design your own quadrilateral dream home!
Today, your dream home is going to become a reality, as you learn and apply an important math skill that architects use on a daily basis!
The home or apartment you are living in also has an area and a perimeter. Even the car you ride in to go places has an area and a perimeter.
Area is the size of a surface. To find the area of a quadrilateral, or four-sided, shape, use the formula:
Base x Height = Area (B x H = A).
Some teachers will say the formula for finding the area of a quadrilateral is Length x Width = Area (L x W = A). Either of these formulas is correct, because base and height are the same things as length and width.
To learn more about finding the area of a quadrilateral, watch Learn how to calculate the area of a square and rectangle. Math lesson for kids from Kisi KidsMath TV:
Let's practice!
See if you can solve some problems using the formula for area:
Perimeter is the distance around the outside of a 2-dimensional shape.
The easiest way to differentiate perimeter from area is that perimeter has the word "rim" in the middle of it. Perimeter involves finding the distance around the rim of an object.
To find the perimeter of a quadrilateral, use the formula:
Side + Side + Side + Side = Perimeter (S + S + S + S = P)
To see an example of finding perimeter, watch How to Find the Perimeter of a Quadrilateral from Mind-Ovation:
Let's try practicing finding the perimeter!
Use the perimeter formula to solve the problems:
Before moving on to the Got It? section, consider why it is important to know how to find area and perimeter.
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