Elementary math Geometry

Area

Area of a rectangle

Area of a rectangle

Here you will learn about finding the area of a rectangle, including finding the area of rectilinear figures, finding missing side lengths, solving area problems involving unit conversion, and solving real-world word problems involving the area of a rectangle.

Students will first learn about area of a rectangle as part of measurement and data in 3rd grade.

What is the area of a rectangle?

The area of a rectangle is the amount of space inside the rectangle. It is measured in units squared, or square units. ( cm^2, m^2, in^2, etc.)

In order to find the area, you need to use the area formula:

\text { Area }=\text { length} \times \text { width}

Area of Rectangle what is the area of a rectangle image

For example,

Area of a Rectangle image 3.1 US

\begin{aligned} \text { Area } & =\text { length } \times \text { width } \\\\ & =7 \times 4 \\\\ & =28 \mathrm{~m}^2 \end{aligned}

You can also use this area formula:

\text { Area }=\text { base} \times \text { height}

Area of a Rectangle image 2 US

Notice it multiplies the same parts of the rectangle as the formula A=l \times w, but uses the terms base and height instead of length and width. Either of these formulas can be used to find the area of a rectangle.

A rectangle is a quadrilateral ( 4 sided shape) where every angle is a right angle (90^{\circ}). Opposite sides of the rectangle are equal length.

Area of a Rectangle image 1 US

The area of a rectangle is calculated by multiplying the length of the rectangle by the width of the rectangle.

The final answer must be in square units. For example, square centimeters (cm^2), square meters (m^2), square feet (ft^2), square inches (in^2), etc.

What is the area of a rectangle?

What is the area of a rectangle?

Common Core State Standards

How does this relate to 3rd grade math and 4th grade math?

  • Grade 3 – Measurement and Data (3.MD.7)
    Relate area to the operations of multiplication and addition.
    a. Find the area of a rectangle with whole-number side lengths by tiling it, and
    show that the area is the same as would be found by multiplying the side
    lengths.
    b. Multiply side lengths to find areas of rectangles with whole number side
    lengths in the context of solving real world and mathematical problems,
    and represent whole-number products as rectangular areas in mathematical
    reasoning.
    c. Use tiling to show in a concrete case that the area of a rectangle with whole-
    number side lengths a and b + c is the sum of a \times b and a \times c. Use area
    models to represent the distributive property in mathematical reasoning.
    d. Recognize area as additive. Find areas of rectilinear figures by decomposing
    them into non-overlapping rectangles and adding the areas of the non-
    overlapping parts, applying this technique to solve real world problems.

  • Grade 4 – Measurement and Data (4.MD.3)
    Apply the area and perimeter formulas for rectangles in real world and mathematical problems. For example, find the width of a rectangular room given the area of the flooring and the length, by viewing the area formula as a multiplication equation with an unknown factor.

How to find the area of a rectangle

In order to find the area of a rectangle:

  1. Identify the length and width of the rectangle.
  2. Write down the formula for the area of a rectangle.
  3. Substitute the given values and calculate.
  4. Write down your final answer with units squared.

[FREE] End of Year Math Assessments (Grade 4 & Grade 5)

[FREE] End of Year Math Assessments (Grade 4 & Grade 5)

[FREE] End of Year Math Assessments (Grade 4 & Grade 5)

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[FREE] End of Year Math Assessments (Grade 4 & Grade 5)

[FREE] End of Year Math Assessments (Grade 4 & Grade 5)

[FREE] End of Year Math Assessments (Grade 4 & Grade 5)

Assess math progress for the end of grade 4 and grade 5 or prepare for state assessments with these mixed topic, multiple choice questions and extended response questions!

DOWNLOAD FREE

Area of a rectangle examples

Example 1: finding area given the length and width

Find the area of the rectangle below.

Area of a Rectangle image 3.2 US

  1. Identify the length and width of the rectangle.

Length = 6 \, m

Width = 4 \, m

2Write down the formula for the area of a rectangle.

\text { Area }=\text { length } \times \text { width }

3Substitute the given values and calculate.

\begin{aligned} \text { Area }&=\text { length } \times \text { width } \\\\ \text { Area }&=6 \times 4 \\\\ & =24 \end{aligned}

4Write down your final answer with units squared.

In this case, you are working with meters so your final answer must be in square meters.

\text { Area }=24 \mathrm{~m}^{2}

Example 2: finding the area of a rectangle requiring converting units

Find the area of the rectangle below.

Area of a Rectangle image 4 US

Length = 1 \, m


Width = 30 \, cm


There are two different units for the length and width so you must change them to a common unit.


In this case, it is easier to convert both to centimeters to avoid working with decimals.


There are 100 centimeters in a meter, so if you multiply the length by 100, you get 100 centimeters.


Length = 100 \, cm


Width = 30 \, cm

\text { Area }=\text { length } \times \text { width }

\begin{aligned} \text { Area }&=\text { length } \times \text { width }\\\\ \text { Area }&=100 \times 30 \\\\ &=3000 \end{aligned}

Since you are working with centimeters, your final answer will be in square centimeters.


\text { Area }=3000 \mathrm{~cm}^{2}

Example 3: real-world word problem

Ms. Crawely is tiling her bathroom floor. The dimensions of the floor are 6 \, m by 4 \, m. Each tile is 50 \, cm by 50 \, cm. How many tiles will she need to cover the bathroom floor?

For the bathroom floor:


Length = 6 \, m


Width = 4 \, m


As there are two different units in the question, you need to convert everything to meters or centimeters. To avoid working with decimals, convert the bathroom floor dimensions into centimeters.


For the bathroom floor:


Multiply by 100 because there are 100 centimeters in a meter.


\begin{aligned} \text { Length }&=6 \mathrm{~m} \times 100=600 \mathrm{~cm} \\\\ \text { Width }&=4 \mathrm{~m} \times 100=400 \mathrm{~cm} \end{aligned}


For the tiles:


Length = 50 \, cm


Width = 50 \, cm

\text { Area }=\text { length } \times \text { width }

\begin{aligned} \text { Area }&=\text { length } \times \text { width } \\\\ \text { Area }&=600 \times 400 \\\\ \text { Area }&=240000 \\\\ \end{aligned}


\begin{aligned} \text { Area }&=\text { length } \times \text { width } \\\\ \text { Area }&=50 \times 50 \\\\ \text { Area }&=2500 \end{aligned}

240000 \div 2500=96 \text { tiles }

Example 4: calculating side length given the area

Find the width of the rectangle below.

Area of a Rectangle image 5 US

Length = 80 \, m


Width = \, ?


To calculate the width of a rectangle, you need to use the area:


\text { Area }=320 \mathrm{~m}^2

\text { Area }=\text { length } \times \text { width }

\begin{aligned} \text { Area }& =\text { length } \times \text { width } \\\\ 320& =80 \times w \\\\ \cfrac{320}{80}& =w \\\\ w& =4 \end{aligned}

\text { width }=4 \, m


In this case, because the question asks you to calculate width and not area, do not write m^2.

Example 5: area of a rectilinear figure

Find the area of the field below:

Area of a Rectangle image 6 US

Before finding the length and width, you need to first decompose the rectilinear figure into individual non-overlapping rectangles. In this case, there are two ways in which you could do this:


Area of a Rectangle image 7 US


Both options will give you the same answer. For the purposes of this question, you will use the decomposed rectilinear figure on the left.


Now you need to find the length and width of each rectangle:


You need to calculate two of the side lengths. Label them a and b. You will also label the rectangles as A and B.


Area of a Rectangle image 8 US


To calculate a, you know the full length of the rectilinear figure is 8 \, m. You need to subtract 7 \, m from it which gives you 1 \, m.


a = 1 \, m


To calculate b, you know the full width of the rectilinear figure is 2 \, m. You need to subtract 1 \, m which gives you 1 \, m.


b = 1 \, m


For rectangle A :


Length = 2 \, m


Width = 1 \, m


For rectangle B :


Length = 7 \, m


Width = 1 \, m

\text { Area }=\text { length } \times \text { width }

Rectangle A


\begin{aligned} \text { Area }&=\text { length } \times \text { width } \\\\ \text { Area }&=2 \times 1 \\\\ &=2 \end{aligned}


Rectangle B


\begin{aligned} \text { Area }&=\text { length } \times \text { width } \\\\ \text { Area }&=7 \times 1 \\\\ & =7 \end{aligned}


You need to now find the sum of the areas of rectangle A and B.


\begin{aligned} \text{ Total Area } &= \text{ Area of Rectangle A } + \text{ Area of Rectangle B } \\\\ \text{ Total Area } &=2+7 \\\\ \text{ Total Area } &=9 \end{aligned}

\text { Area }=9 \mathrm{~m}^2

Example 6: word problem

Rectangle ABCD, shown below, has a perimeter of 22 \, m and a side length of 8 \, m. Find the area of the rectangle.

Area of a Rectangle image 9 US

Length = 8 \, m


Width = \, ?


As the width is unknown, you will have to find it using the perimeter and your knowledge of rectangles.


The perimeter of a rectangle is the total distance around the outside of the rectangle, or the sum of the sides of a rectangle.


Since you know that the opposite sides of a rectangle are the same lengths, that means that, since side BC measures 8 \, m, side AD also measures 8 \, m.


Now you have two side lengths, which equal 16 \, m together.


Since the total perimeter is 22 \, m, the remaining two sides, side AB and side CD, must equal 6m together.


Therefore, side AB = 3 \, m and side CD = 3 \, m.


Area of a Rectangle image 10 US


Now you have the length and width in order to find the area of the rectangle.


Length = 8 \, m


Width = 3 \, m

\text { Area }=\text { length } \times \text { width }

\begin{aligned} \text { Area }&=\text { length } \times \text { width } \\\\ \text { Area }&=8 \times 3 \\\\ &=24 \end{aligned}

In this case, you are working with meters so your final answer must be in square meters.


\text { Area }=24 \, m^2

Teaching tips for area of a rectangle

  • Before learning the area of a rectangle formula, allow students to explore area by tiling with square tiles. These concrete manipulatives act as unit squares and will help students build an understanding of area before they begin calculating it.

  • Rather than having students practice finding the area of a rectangle on multiple skill worksheets, provide them with a variety of practice problems, activities, and/or projects that have a real-world context. This will deepen their understanding of this skill.

Easy mistakes to make

  • Using incorrect units for the answer
    A common error is to forget to include square units in your answer when finding the area of a rectangle.

  • Forgetting to convert measures to a common unit
    Before using the formula for the area of a rectangle, you need to ensure that the units are the same. If different units are given (for example, length = 4 \, m and width = 3 \, cm ), then you must convert them either both to centimeters or both to meters.

Practice area of a rectangle questions

1. Find the area of the rectangle below.

 

Area of a Rectangle image 11 US

60 \, mm
GCSE Quiz False

17 \, mm^2
GCSE Quiz False

60 \, mm^2
GCSE Quiz True

17 \, mm
GCSE Quiz False

Multiply the length and width together to get the area of the rectangle.

 

12 \mathrm{~mm} \times 5 \mathrm{~mm}=60 \mathrm{~mm}^2

2. Find the area of the rectangle below.

 

Area of a Rectangle image 12 US

480 \, m^2
GCSE Quiz False

480 \, cm^2
GCSE Quiz False

4.8 \, m^2 or 48 \, 000 \, cm^2

GCSE Quiz True

124 \, m^2
GCSE Quiz False

Prior to multiplying the length times the width, convert the length and width to a common unit (both length and width to meters or both to centimeters).

 

Remember there are 100 centimeters in 1 meter.

3. Mr. Measure is tiling his kitchen floor. The dimensions of the floor are 7 \, m by 5 \, m. Each tile is 20 \, cm by 20 \, cm. How many tiles will he need to cover the bathroom floor?

35 tiles

GCSE Quiz False

875 tiles

GCSE Quiz True

400 tiles

GCSE Quiz False

11 tiles

GCSE Quiz False

Find the area of the floor by multiplying the length of the rectangle times the width.

 

Prior to multiplying the length and width for the tile, convert the length and width to a common unit (since you calculated the floor in meters here, you converted tiles to meters).

 

Remember there are 100 centimeters in 1 meter.

 

Take the area of the tiles and divide it into the area of the floor to get the number of tiles needed to cover the floor.

4. Find the width of the rectangle below.

 

Area of a Rectangle image 13 US

4 \, m
GCSE Quiz True

19600 \, m
GCSE Quiz False

19 \, 600 \, m^2
GCSE Quiz False

4 \, m^2
GCSE Quiz False

Using the formula for the area of a rectangle, substitute your given values.

 

As you are trying to find the width of the rectangle, you need to rearrange the formula dividing the length into the area.

5. Below is a blueprint for a new flower bed. Find the area of the flower bed.

 

Area of a Rectangle image 14 US

57 \, m^2
GCSE Quiz False

22 \, m^2
GCSE Quiz False

45 \, m^2
GCSE Quiz False

30 \, m^2
GCSE Quiz True

Split the rectilinear figure into 3 rectangles.

 

Find the missing side length of rectangle C by subtracting 3 from the total length which is 5 \, m.

 

Add up all the individual areas to get the total area of the rectilinear figure.

 

Area of a Rectangle image 15 US

 

 

Rectangle A

 

\begin{aligned} \text { Area }&=\text { length } \times \text { width } \\\\ &=3 \times 2 \\\\ &=6 \\\\ \text { Area }&=6 \, m^2 \end{aligned}

 

 

Rectangle B

 

\begin{aligned} \text { Area }&=\text { length } \times \text { width } \\\\ &=3 \times 2 \\\\ &=6 \\\\ \text { Area }&=6 \, m^2 \end{aligned}

 

 

Rectangle C

 

\begin{aligned} \text { Area }&=\text { length } \times \text { width } \\\\ &=9 \times 2 \\\\ &=18 \\\\ \text { Area }&=18 \, m^2 \end{aligned}

 

 

\begin{aligned} \text { Total Area }&= 6 \, m^2+6 \, m^2+18 \, m^2 \\\\ & =30 \, m^2 \end{aligned}

6. The perimeter of rectangle WXYZ is 26 \, m. It has a side length of 11 \, m. Find the area of the rectangle.

 

Area of a Rectangle image 16 US

2 \, m
GCSE Quiz False

2 \, m^2
GCSE Quiz False

22 \, m^2
GCSE Quiz True

22 \, m
GCSE Quiz False

Since side XY is 11 \, m, side WZ is also 11 \, m. That means the sum of the remaining side lengths must equal 4 \, m.

 

So side WX and side YZ are each 2 \, m. Then, you multiply 11 \, m by 2 \, m \; (length \times width) to find the area.

Area of a rectangle FAQs

How do you find the area of a rectangle?

Multiply the length of a rectangle by the width of a rectangle to find its area.

What is the difference between the area of a rectangle and the perimeter of a rectangle?

The area of a rectangle is the amount of space inside the rectangle. It is measured in square units. The perimeter of a rectangle is the distance around the outside of a rectangle, or the sum of the sides of a rectangle. It is measured in any unit of length.

What is the area of a rectangle formula?

The formula for area of a rectangle is Area = length \times width.

The next lessons are

  • Perimeter
  • 3D shapes
  • Volume

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