Measuring Area

Area is the space within a shape and is measured in square units. The formula to
calculate area is:
Area = Length (of object) x Width (of object)

What is the area of the following objects?

5 ft.

4 in.
25 ft.

17 yd. 5 in.

289 yd.2 125 ft.2 20 in.2

Using what you know about measurement, why do we use square units to measure area?
Answers may vary. Possible answers might include:

• Surface area is flat and can be measured in small 1X1 units.

• A 1 foot square is 1 foot by 1 foot. This is a square to use as a unit of measure.
• Students may illustrate a grid with an object on it.
• Students might illustrate a multiplication array to show area.

What is the formula to calculate the area of a parallelogram?

Area = Base x Height

Determine the area of the following objects.

30 ft.2 49 ft.2 40 ft.2
6 yd.

5 ft.

8 ft.
7 in.
5 yd.