Learn more about trapezoids and how to calculate their areas by using the trapezoid area formula.
Step by step guide to calculate the area of Trapezoids
- A quadrilateral with at least one pair of parallel sides is a trapezoid.
- Area of a trapezoid \(= \color{blue}{\frac{1}{2} h(b_{1}+b_{2})}\)
Example 1:
Calculate the area of the trapezoid.
Solution:
Use trapezoid area formula: \(A= \frac{1}{2} h(b_{1}+b_{2 }) \)
\(b_{1}=14 cm , b_{2}=18\) cm and \(h=20\) cm
Then: \(A= \frac{1}{2}(20)(14+18)=10(32)=320\) cm\(^2\)
Example 2:
Calculate the area of the trapezoid.
Solution::
Use trapezoid area formula: \(A= \frac{1}{2} h(b_{1}+b_{2 }) \)
\(b_{1}=12 cm , b_{2}=16\) cm and \(h=18\) cm
Then: \(A= \frac{1}{2}(18)(12+16)=9(28)=252\) cm\(^2\)
Exercises
Calculate the area for each trapezoid.
Download Trapezoids Worksheet
- \(\color{blue}{28 \ cm^2}\)
- \(\color{blue}{100 \ m^2}\)
- \(\color{blue}{66 \ ft^2}\)
- \(\color{blue}{96 \ cm^2}\)
