Thread: Area of a trapezium

How do you work out the area of a trapezium.

An example would be good as well.

Thanks in advance

The formula is 1/2 (a+b) * h






Example:
Area = 1/2*(5+8)*3
= 1/2*(13)*3
= 19.5 units squared

Let a and b be the parallel sides of the trapezium.
Let h be the height of the trapezium.

$\displaystyle A=\frac{h(a+b)}{2}$

Example: A trapezium of height 6cm has 2 parallel sides one is 10cm the other is 8cm. Find the area of the trapezium.

Using the formula:

$\displaystyle A=\frac{h(a+b)}{2}$

$\displaystyle A=\frac{6(10+8)}{2}$

$\displaystyle \implies A=\frac{6(18)}{2}$

$\displaystyle \implies A=\frac{108}{2}$

$\displaystyle \implies A=54cm^2$

thx a lot m8, that was loadz of help