What is the area of the trapezoid in the diagram?
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What is the area of the trapezoid in the diagram?
To find the area of the trapezoid, we will follow these steps:
Let's work through each step more clearly:
Step 1: From the problem, we identify that the trapezoid has one base units, another base units, and its height units.
Step 2: The formula for the area of a trapezoid is:
Step 3: Substitute the values into the formula:
Therefore, the area of the trapezoid is .
cm²
Given the following trapezoid:
Calculate the area of the trapezoid ABCD.
The bases are the two parallel sides - in this diagram, the horizontal lines measuring 8 and 13. The slanted sides are called legs and are not used in the area formula.
Think of a trapezoid as an average rectangle! The finds the average of the two bases: , then we multiply by height like a rectangle.
The height is always the perpendicular distance between the parallel bases. Even if drawn at an angle, it represents the shortest distance between the two parallel lines.
Yes! That's exactly what makes it a trapezoid. If both bases were the same length, it would be a rectangle or parallelogram instead.
Remember: "Average the bases, then multiply by height" - is the same as !
Decimal answers are perfectly normal in geometry! Areas don't have to be whole numbers. Always include proper units (like cm² or square units) in your final answer.
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