Area
Lower Key Stage 2
Meaning
Area is the size of a surface.
About Area
- If a rectilinear shape is drawn on a grid the area can be found by counting the number of squares inside the shape.
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| The shape has 20 squares inside it, so the area is 20 squares. | This shape has an area of 14 squares. | This shape has an area of 15 squares. |
Upper Key Stage 2
Meaning
Area is the size of a surface.
About Area
- If a rectilinear shape is drawn on a grid the area can be found by counting the number of squares inside the shape.
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| The shape has 20 squares inside it, so the area is 20 squares. | This shape has an area of 14 squares. | This shape has an area of 15 squares. |
- If an unusual shape is drawn on a grid the area can be estimated. The answer will not be exactly correct, but it will be close.
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| This shape has 12 full squares and 3 half squares. So the area is 12 + 3.5 = 15.5 squares. | This shape has 10 full squares, 2/3 of a square, 4 half squares and 1/3 of a square. So the area is 10 + 2/3 + 4 + 1/3 = 15 squares. | This circle has 12 full squares, 4 nearly full squares, 4 nearly empty squares, 6 half squares. The area is difficult to estimate but it is around 19 squares. |
- The units of area are not usually 'squares', they are either metres squared (m2) or centimetres squared (cm2).
- The area of a rectangle or a square can also be found if the length of the sides is known.
- To find the area of a rectangle or square; multiply the base by the height.
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\(area = base \times height\) \(area = 5 \times 5\) \(area = 25m^2\) |
\(area = base \times height\) \(area = 7 \times 4\) \(area = 28cm^2\) |
\(area = base \times height\) \(area = 6\times 4.5\) \(area = 27cm^2\) |
- The area of parallelograms can be found by multiplying the base by the height.
- The area of a triangle can be found by multiplying half the base by the height.
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\(area = base \times height\) \(area = 6 \times 3\) \(area = 18cm^2\) |
\(area = base \times height\) \(area = 4 \times 6\) \(area = 24cm^2\) |
\(area = \frac{1}{2} \times base \times height\) \(area = \frac{1}{2} \times 5 \times 7\) \(area = 17.5cm^2\) |
Key Stage 3
Meaning
Area is the size of a surface.
About Area
- The units of area are metres squared or centimetres squared.
Equations
Area of a Rectangle
\(area = base \times height\)
\(a = b\times h\)
Area of a Triangle
\(area = \frac{1}{2} \times base \times height\)
\(a = \frac{b \times h}{2}\)
Area of a Trapezium
\(area = \frac{1}{2} \times (shortside+longside) \times height\)
\(a = \frac{1}{2} \times (A+B) \times height\)
Area of a Circle
\(area = \pi \times (radius)^2\)
\(a = \pi r^2\)
Key Stage 4
Meaning
Area is the size of a surface.
About Area
- The units of area are metres squared or centimetres squared.
Equations
Area of a Rectangle
\(area = base \times height\)
\(a = b\times h\)
Area of a Triangle
\(area = \frac{1}{2} \times base \times height\)
\(a = \frac{b \times h}{2}\)
Area of a Trapezium
\(area = \frac{1}{2} \times (shortside+longside) \times height\)
\(a = \frac{1}{2} \times (A+B) \times height\)
Area of a Circle
\(area = \pi \times (radius)^2\)
\(a = \pi r^2\)
Surface Area of a Sphere
\(area = 4 \times \pi \times (radius)^2\)
\(a = 4 \pi r^2\)
Surface Area of a Cylinder
\(area = 2 \times \pi \times (radius)^2 + 2 \times \pi \times radius \times height\)
\(a = 2 \pi r^2 + 2 \pi rh\)