Area of a trapezoid

The trapezoid has one pair of parallel opposite sides called the bases b₁ and b₂. The height h of the trapezoid is perpendicular distance between these bases.

Formula to find area of a trapezoid

Area of a trapezoid = $\left [ \frac{\left ( b_1 + b_2\right )}{2} \right ] \times h$

where h is the height and b₁ and b₂ are the bases.

We multiply the average of the bases of the trapezoid with the height of the trapezoid to get its area.

Find the area of the following trapezoid.

Solution

Step 1:

Area of Trapezoid = $\frac{1}{2}$ × h × (b1 + b2); b1, b2 = bases = 3, 4.5; h = height = 5.

Step 2:

Area of trapezoid = $\frac{1}{2}$ × 5 × (3 + 4.5) = 18.75 square in

Find the area of the following trapezoid.

Solution

Step 1:

Area of Trapezoid = $\frac{1}{2}$ × h × (b1 + b2); b1, b2 = bases = 5, 8; h = height = 4.4.

Step 2:

Area of trapezoid = $\frac{1}{2}$ × 4.4 × (5 + 8) = 28.6 square in