To find the area of a regular hexagon when you know the length of the apothem, you can use the following formula:
Area = (Perimeter x Apothem) / 2
First, let’s break it down:
- Find the side length: A regular hexagon can be divided into 6 equilateral triangles. The relationship between the apothem (a) and the side length (s) of a regular hexagon is given by the formula:
- Calculate the perimeter: The perimeter (P) of a regular hexagon is simply 6 times the side length:
- Calculate the area: Now, we can use the area formula by plugging in the values we have:
a = (s × √3) / 2
Given that the apothem is 6 meters, we can rearrange this formula to find the side length:
s = (2 × a) / √3
Substituting the given apothem length:
s = (2 × 6) / √3 = 12 / √3 ≈ 6.93 m
P = 6 × s
So,
P ≈ 6 × 6.93 ≈ 41.58 m
Area = (P × a) / 2 = (41.58 × 6) / 2
Doing the math:
Area = 249.48 / 2 ≈ 124.74 m²
So, the area of the regular hexagon with an apothem of 6 meters is approximately 124.74 square meters.