Page 1 of 4

Area of a Parallelogram
BEFORE

Now
Youll find the areas of parallelograms.

WHY?

You found the areas of rectangles and squares.

So you can estimate the area of Missouri, as in Exs. 1415.

You can find the area of a parallelogram.

Word Watch
base of a parallelogram, p. 552 height of a parallelogram, p. 552

1 On graph paper, draw the parallelogram shown.

8 units 4 units 3 units 5 units

2 Cut a right triangle from one side of the parallelogram and move it to the other side to form a rectangle.

Cut the parallelogram.

Form a rectangle.

3 Find the area of the rectangle. How does the area of the rectangle compare with the area of the parallelogram?

with

Notetaking

In your notebook, you may want to copy an example that illustrates how to find the area of a parallelogram next to the formula for the area of a parallelogram. This is a good way to organize the area formulas you learn in this chapter.

The base of a parallelogram is the length of any one of the sides. The height of a parallelogram is the perpendicular distance between the side whose length is the base and the opposite side.
height base base height

Area of a Parallelogram
Words The area A of a parallelogram

is the product of a base and the corresponding height.

Algebra A bh

height h base b

552

Chapter 11

Measurement and Area

Page 2 of 4

tch Out! Wa
Area is measured in square units, not linear units.

EXAMPLE

Finding the Area of a Parallelogram

Find the area of the parallelogram.

A bh 10(6) 60
Write formula for area. Substitute 10 for b and 6 for h. Multiply.
6 cm 10 cm

ANSWER The area of the parallelogram is 60 square centimeters.

Your turn now Find the area of the parallelogram with the given base and height.
1. b 8 in., h 11 in. 2. b 9.3 m, h 7 m 3. b 3.25 ft, h 12 ft

EXAMPLE

Finding the Base of a Parallelogram

Exercising A treadmills belt is in the shape of a parallelogram before its ends are joined to form a loop. The belts area is 2052 square inches. The belts width, which is the height of the parallelogram, is 18 inches. Find the length of the belt, which is the base of the parallelogram.

Not drawn to scale

Solution A bh 2052 b(18)

2052 b(18) 18 18

Write formula for area of a parallelogram. Substitute 2052 for A and 18 for h. Divide each side by 18. Simplify.

114 b

ANSWER The length of the treadmills belt is 114 inches.

Your turn now

4. A 56 in.2

Find the unknown base or height of the parallelogram.

5. A 36 mm2
4.5 mm b

6. A 54 cm2
h 9 cm

8 in. b

Lesson 11.4

Area of a Parallelogram

553

Page 3 of 4

Exercises
More Practice, p. 715

INTERNET

eWorkbook Plus
CLASSZONE.COM

Getting Ready to Practice

1. Vocabulary Draw a parallelogram. Label a base and the height.

Find the area of the parallelogram.

2.
4 yd 6 in. 5m 4 yd

3.

3 in.

4.
4m

5. Find the Error Describe

and correct the error in finding the area of the parallelogram.

4 cm 10 cm

5 cm

A bh 10 5 50 cm 2

6. Stained Glass The area of a parallelogram in a stained glass window is

71.5 square inches, and the height is 6.5 inches. What is the base?

Practice and Problem Solving

with

Homework

Find the perimeter and the area of the parallelogram.

7.
7 mm 9 mm 5 mm 9 mm 12.3 cm 7 mm

Example Exercises 1 79 2 1013

Online Resources
CLASSZONE.COM

8.
13 cm

12.3 cm 10 cm 13 cm

9.

3 in.
1 6 2 in.

3 2 10 in. 1 6 2 in.

3 in.

More Examples eTutorial Plus

Find the unknown base or height of the parallelogram.

10. A 48 cm2, b 12 cm, h _ ? _ 12. A 80 m2, b _ ? _, h 15 m 11. A 117 ft 2, b _ ? _, h 9 ft
5 13. A 15 in.2, b in., h _ ? _ 6

Estimation In Exercises 14 and 15, use the following information. The state of Missouri has approximately the shape of a parallelogram.
14. Use a metric ruler to find the base and

height of the parallelogram.

15. Use the scale 1 cm : 120 miles to

MISSOURI

estimate the area of Missouri.

554
Chapter 11 Measurement and Area

Page 4 of 4

16. Critical Thinking Two parallelograms have the same area. Do they

necessarily have the same base and height? Explain your reasoning.

Art

17. The area of a parallelogram is 216 square feet, and the base is 6 times

the height. Find the parallelograms height.

Geometric Art Approximate the height of the rhombus, from the sculpture at the left. Then estimate the area to the nearest square inch.
18.
2.75 in. 2.06 in. 0.93 in. h 2.75 in.

19.
h

Challenge Plot and connect the points to form a parallelogram. Then find the area.
20. R(2, 2), S(1, 2), T (1, 2), U(4, 2)
s

Geometric Art
The solids used to make this geometric sculpture have 3 sides visible. Suppose you can choose from 5 different colors to color each of the 3 visible sides of one solid. If each side must be a different color, how many color combinations are possible?

21. K(3, 2), L(3, 2), M(3, 4), N(3, 0) 22. A(3, 3), B(1, 3), C (2, 0), D (0, 0)

Mixed Review
Use the distributive property to evaluate the expression. (Lesson 6.7)
5 2 23. 6 6 7 7

24. 3(5.9) 3(0.1)

25. 8(2.6) 8(4.4)

The lengths of the legs of a right triangle are given. Find the length of the hypotenuse. Round to the nearest tenth if necessary. (Lesson 11.3)
26. 15 m, 20 m 27. 90 m, 120 m 28. 30 in., 50 in.

Basic Skills Tell whether the number is prime or composite.

29. 29 30. 111 31. 78

Test-Taking Practice
INTERNET

32. Multiple Choice What is the area

State Test Practice

CLASSZONE.COM

of the parallelogram shown? A. 208 cm2 C. 143 cm2 B. 192 cm2 D. 132 cm2

13 cm 16 cm

33. Short Response The base of a parallelogram is 24.5 feet, and the

height is 10 feet. If you divide the base and the height in half, what happens to the area of the parallelogram?
Lesson 11.4 Area of a Parallelogram

555