Area of Trapezoids

A trapezoid is a polygon with only one pair of parallel lines.

To find the area of a Trapezoid we use the following formula:

A = h • (b₁+b₂) ÷ 2

Example 1:

Step 1: Write the formula
A = h • (b₁+b₂) ÷ 2

Step 2: Substitute the variables
A = 5 • (8 + 4) ÷ 2

Step 3: Solve step by step
A = 5 • (8 + 4) ÷ 2
A = 5 • (12) ÷ 2
A = 60 ÷ 2
A = 30cm²

Example 2:

A = h • (b₁+b₂) ÷ 2
A = 40 • (90 + 15) ÷ 2
A = 40 • (105) ÷ 2
A = 4,200 ÷ 2
A = 2,100ft²

Video example from Virtual Nerd