Page 1 of 6

8.3 Area of Squares and

Rectangles
Goal Can you tell which of the rectangles below covers more surface?
Find the area of squares
and rectangles.

Key Words
• area A B

• square p. 325
• rectangle p. 325

Rectangle A is made up of 18 squares while rectangle B is made

up of 20 squares. So, rectangle B covers more area. The amount
of surface covered by a figure is its area .
Area is measured in square units such as square inches (in.2)
and square meters (m2).

AREA OF A SQUARE
Words Area 5 (side)2
s
Symbols A 5 s2

EXAMPLE 1 Find the Area of a Square

Find the area of the square.

9 ft

Solution
Use the formula for the area of
a square and substitute 9 for s.
A 5 s2 Formula for the area of a square
2
59 Substitute 9 for s.
5 81 Simplify.

ANSWER © The area of the square is 81 square feet.

424 Chapter 8 Polygons and Area

 Page 2 of 6

AREA OF A RECTANGLE
Words Area 5 (base)(height)
height, h
Symbols A 5 bh
base, b

IStudent Help EXAMPLE 2 Find the Area of a Rectangle

ICLASSZONE.COM
Find the area of the rectangular pool.
MORE EXAMPLES
More examples at Solution
classzone.com Use the formula for the area of a 16 ft
rectangle. Substitute 24 for b and
16 for h. 24 f t

A 5 bh Formula for the area of a rectangle

5 24 p 16 Substitute 24 for b and 16 for h.
5 384 Multiply.

ANSWER © The area of the pool is 384 square feet.

EXAMPLE 3 Find the Height of a Rectangle

The rectangle has an area of 54 square inches.
Find its height.
A 5 54 in.2 h
Solution
Use the formula for the area of a rectangle 9 in.
and substitute 54 for A and 9 for b.
A 5 bh Formula for the area of a rectangle
54 5 9h Substitute 54 for A and 9 for b.
65h Divide each side by 9.

ANSWER © The height of the rectangle is 6 inches.

Area of Squares and Rectangles

Find the area of the quadrilateral.

1. 2. 3.
2 ft
11 m 4.5 yd
6 ft

5.9 yd

4. A rectangle has an area of 52 square meters and a height of

4 meters. Find the length of its base.
8.3 Area of Squares and Rectangles 425
 Page 3 of 6

To find the area of a complex polygon, divide the polygon into smaller
regions whose areas you can find.

EXAMPLE 4 Divide a Complex Polygon into Rectangles

Find the dimensions of rectangles A and B.
2 5
Solution 7
Rectangle A B A
The base is 5 units.
Because rectangle B is 2 units taller than 9
rectangle A, the height of rectangle A is
7 2 2 5 5 units. 4

Rectangle B 2 5
The height is 7 units.
7
The base of rectangle B is the total of B A 5
both bases minus the base of rectangle A,
or 9 2 5 5 4 units.
9

Visualize It! EXAMPLE 5 Find the Area of a Complex Polygon

Labels on diagrams Find the area of the polygon made up of rectangles. 7 cm
are centered on the
segment with which Solution F 3 cm
they correspond.
In Example 5, the 9 cm Add the areas of the rectangles. G 4 cm
label refers to a side of 9 cm
the polygon, not just the Area 5 Area of F 1 Area of G 1 Area of H
height of rectangle G. 2 cm
5 bh 1 bh 1 bh
H 2 cm
5 4 p 3 1 (7 2 4) p (9 2 2) 1 5 p 2
5 cm
54p313p715p2
5 12 1 21 1 10
5 43
ANSWER © The total area of the polygon is 43 square centimeters.

Polygons Made Up of Rectangles

Find the area of the polygon made up of rectangles.

5. 7 in. 6. 4m
3m
3m
3 in. 6m 5m
6 in.
4 in.
12 m

426 Chapter 8 Polygons and Area

 Page 4 of 6

8.3 Exercises
Guided Practice
Vocabulary Check 1. What kind of quadrilateral has opposite sides parallel, opposite
sides congruent, and four right angles?

Skill Check Match the figure with the corresponding area equation.
A. A 5 x2 B. A 5 2x2 C. A 5 4x2

2. 3. 4.
x
2x x
2x

Determine whether the statement about the diagram is true or false.

Explain your answer.
6
5. To find the area of the entire polygon, add
A
the areas of the three rectangles.
3 B 7
6. The height of rectangle A is 1 unit. C
6 2
7. The height of rectangle C is 5 units.
3

Practice and Applications

Extra Practice Area of a Square Find the area of the square.
See p. 689. 8. 9. 10.

6 ft 12 m

20 in.

Area of a Rectangle Find the area of the rectangle.

11. 12. 13.
2 cm 5m
7 yd
5 cm 12.1 m
6 yd

Homework Help
Example 1: Exs. 8–10, 14 Visualize It! Sketch the figure and find its area.
Example 2: Exs. 11–13,
15, 16 14. A square with side lengths of 2.2 centimeters
Example 3: Exs. 20–22
Example 4: Exs. 24–26 15. A rectangle with a base of 4 meters and a height of 11 meters
Example 5: Exs. 27–30
16. A rectangle with a base of 13 feet and a height of 8 feet

8.3 Area of Squares and Rectangles 427

 Page 5 of 6

Judo The dimensions of the squares on a judo mat are given in

the diagram.
17. Find the area of the entire mat. 14 m
9m
18. Find the area of the contest area. Contest
7m
area
19. Find the area of the contest area
including the danger area. Danger
area

Using Algebra In Exercises 20–22, A gives the area of the

rectangle. Find the missing side length.
20. 21. 22.

A 5 56 in.2 18 cm A 5 33 ft2 h
h

b 6.6 ft
8 in. A 5 54 cm2

23. You be the Judge The perimeter of a square is 28 feet. Can

you conclude that the area of the square is 49 square feet? Explain.

Dividing a Polygon Find the dimensions of the rectangle.

24. Rectangle A 11 ft

25. Rectangle B 3 ft A
D 4 ft
26. Rectangle C 2 ft C
2 ft
6 ft B
4 ft
2 ft

Visualize It! Area of Complex Polygons Find the area of the polygon made up
In Exs. 27–30, the of rectangles.
polygons can be divided 27. 7m 28.
into rectangles in 3 in.
different ways. For
example, Ex. 27 can be 8 in. 5 in.
10 m
divided as follows:
5m
7m
12 m 4 in.

10 m
5m 29. 30.
16 yd 4 cm
12 m 5 cm
5 yd
9 yd 10 cm
12 cm 11 cm
7 yd

18 cm
428 Chapter 8 Polygons and Area
 Page 6 of 6

Maize Maze Brett Herbst transforms cornfields into mazes. His maze
in Utah, shown at the right, is in the shape of Utah.
31. What is the area covered by the maze, 175 ft
which is made up of two rectangles?

32. How many acres does the maze

cover? (1 acre 5 43,560 square feet) 500 ft 400 ft

33. Suppose corn seed costs $34 per

acre and fertilizer costs $57 per acre.
How much will it cost to seed and
450 ft
fertilize a field with the same
dimensions as the maze?

Standardized Test 34. Multi-Step Problem The polygon below is made up of rectangles.
Practice a. Write an expression for the area of 7
the polygon.
x
b. Suppose the area is 65 square units.
Find the value of x.
c. Using your results from part (b), 6
sketch the figure and label all of
its dimensions. x

Mixed Review Congruent Parts Use the diagram of parallelogram ABCD. Match
the segment or angle with a congruent one. Give a reason for your
answer. (Lesson 6.2)
&*
35. CE &*
A. AB A B

&*
36. CD B. aADC
E
37. aABD &*
C. AE D C

38. aCBA D. aCDB

Determining Similarity Determine whether the triangles are similar.

If so, state the similarity and the postulate or theorem that justifies
your answer. (Lesson 7.4)
39. P 40. J 8 K
S 1048
6
R 10 P F 10 G 6
15 10
9 L
1048 18
U 25 T H

Algebra Skills Comparing Numbers Compare the two numbers. Write the answer
using <, >, or 5. (Skills Review, p. 662)
41. 8 and 218 42. 2459 and 2495 43. 210 and 0

44. 21.12 and 21.01 45. 2.44 and 2.044 46. 20.75 and 20.7

8.3 Area of Squares and Rectangles 429