1. The area of a surface is the size of the surface. 2.

(a) The following diagrams show two different shapes, i.e. a square and a rectangle.

(b) Based on the diagrams, the rectangle has a 2 bigger area than the square. (c) This can be proved by using cards which measure 1 cm x 1 cm (1 cm) each. (d) Fill the square and the rectangle with these 1 cm cards and count the numbers of cards used.

(e) The square will use four pieces of these 1 cm cards while the rectangle will use six pieces. (f) Note that the number of these cards used for filling a shape is the same as the product of the length and the width of the shape. (g) Therefore, to measure the area of a regular shape, the following formula can be used:

3. The standard units of area are: (a) square millimetres (mm) (b) square centimetres (cm) (c) square metres (m) (d) square kilometres (km)

4. The area of a small surface is measured in mm or cm. 5.The area of a large surface is measured in m or km.

The following diagram shows a rectangle that has a length of 5 cm and a width of 4 cm. Calculate the area of the rectangle.

Solution Area = length x width = 5 cm x 4 cm = 20 cm

1.Basically, to measure the size of any square or rectangle, use the following formula: