Calculating Area - A Primer

Calculating Area - A Primer Understanding how to calculate area is important to understand at the early age of 8-10. Calculating area is a pre-algebra skill that should be well understood prior to beginning algebra. Students by grade 4 need to understand the early concepts of calculating the area of a variety of shapes. Formulas for calculating area use letters which are identified below. For example the formula for the area of a circle will look like this: A π  r  2  This formula means that the area is equal to 3.14 times the radius squared. The area of a rectangle would look like this: A lw This formula means that the area of the rectangle is equal to the length times the width. Area of a triangle -    A ( b x h ) / 2.   .( See Image 1). To best understand the area of a triangle,   consider the fact that a triangle forms 1/2 of a rectangle. To determine the area of a rectangle , we use   length times width ( l x w ).   We use the terms base and height for a triangle, but the concept is the same. (See Image 2 ).   Area of Sphere -   ( the surface area )   The formula is 4 Ï€ r 2    For a 3-D object the 3-D area is termed as the volume.Area calculations are used in many sciences and studies and have practical daily uses such as determining the amount of paint required to paint a room. Recognizing the various shapes that are involved is essential to calculating area for complex shapes.  Ã‚   (See images)