To find the area of a figure, you first need to identify the type of shape you’re dealing with, as different shapes have different formulas to calculate their area. Here are some common shapes and their area formulas:
- Rectangle: Area = Length × Width
- Triangle: Area = (Base × Height) / 2
- Circle: Area = π × Radius2
- Parallelogram: Area = Base × Height
- Trapezoid: Area = (Base1 + Base2) × Height / 2
Once you’ve calculated the area using the proper formula, you’ll want to round the result to the nearest tenth. Here’s how to do it:
- Calculate the area using the appropriate formula.
- If the decimal part of your answer is less than 0.05, round down. For example, if you got 20.3, it stays 20.3.
- If the decimal part is 0.05 or greater, round up. For instance, if you got 20.7, it becomes 20.7.
As an example, let’s find the area of a rectangle with a length of 5.6 units and a width of 3.2 units:
Step 1: Use the formula for area of a rectangle:
Area = Length × Width = 5.6 × 3.2 = 17.92 square units.
Step 2: Round to the nearest tenth:
17.92 rounds to 17.9 when considering the tenths place (the digit 9).
Thus, the area of the rectangle rounded to the nearest tenth is 17.9 square units.