Area

Area is the amount of space a two dimensional (flat) surface takes up. It is useful because it is how much of a material is needed to make a hollow container. Area is the amount of surface covered by a close object or shape. Some units used to measure area are square foot, square mile, square metre and square kilometre. The area of a planar figure is often written as A {\displaystyle A} . Areas of regular shapes such as square, rectangle, triangle and circle can be calculated through formulas. The area of an irregular shape can be approximated through grid or graph paper. One can use different formulas to find the area of different shapes. For example: The area of a rectangle is the length of any two touching sides multiplied together. In other words, length times width. The area of a triangle is half of the product of the base and the perpendicular height. In other words, A = 1 2 b h {\displaystyle A={\tfrac {1}{2}}bh} . The area of a circle: A = π r 2 {\displaystyle A=\pi r^{2}} The area of a flat object is related to the surface area and volume of a three-dimensional object. The area under a curve can be found using integration, a concept from calculus. Perimeter and Area As demonstrated with honeycombs, the best shape to have when you want plenty of area with little perimeter is the circle, with the hexagon being a good alternative. If you want a lot of perimeter and just a little area, simply make the shape into a square, then make it twice as long and half as wide. Related pages Mu (unit of area) References