In today’s geometry lesson, you’re going to learn all about the area of composite figures. Show Jenn, Founder Calcworkshop®, 15+ Years Experience (Licensed & Certified Teacher) You’ll learn how basic polygons (squares, rectangles, etc.) are used to determine the area of many complex figures. So let’s jump on in! Did you know that any polygonal region can be divided into nonoverlapping regions? This means that we can take any complex shape and divide it into known polygons! Why is this important? Because the area of the complex shape is equal to the sum of the areas of the divided nonoverlapping regions! Area FormulasTogether we will learn how to use formulas to find the area of the following basic polygons: RectangleArea = lw , where l = length and w = width Area of a Rectangle SquareArea = x^2 , where x is the length of one side of the square Area of a Square TriangleArea = 1/2*b*h , where b = base and h = height Area of a Triangle Equilateral TriangleArea = SQRT(3)/4*x^2 , where x = length of side Area of Equilateral Triangle ParallelogramArea = bh ; where b = length of the base, and h = length of the altitude of the parallelogram Area of a Parallelogram Formula RhombusArea = (1/2)d1*d2 , where d1 = length of first diagonal, and d2 = length of second diagonal Rhombus Area Formula TrapezoidArea = (1/2)*h*(b1 + b2) , where h = height, b1 = length of base one, and b2 = length of base two Trapezoid Area Formula And then, we will use these formulas for finding the area of basic polygons, to find the area of composite figures. A composite figure, sometimes referred to as complex figures or shapes, as Khan Academy nicely states, is a figure comprised of two or more basic polygons. Let’s take a look at a basic example to clarify the process. Notice that the given polygon is comprised of both a square and a triangle. Therefore, if we find the area of the square and the area of the triangle separately, then the total area of the polygon is the sum of these two areas. How To Find The Area Of A Composite Figure In the video below, you’ll learn how to set up and solve many different types of problems. Including the tricky ones… …and lastly, you find out how to use ratios and proportions to find area or lengths of geometric figures too. Video – Lesson & Examples1 hr
Get access to all the courses and over 450 HD videos with your subscription Monthly and Yearly Plans Available Get My Subscription Now Still wondering if CalcWorkshop is right for you? How do you find area of composite figures?A composite figure is made up of simple geometric shapes. To find the area of a composite figure or other irregular-shaped figure, divide it into simple, nonoverlapping figures. Find the area of each simpler figure, and then add the areas together to find the total area of the composite figure.
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