Composite shapes made by putting together or taking away pieces of other basic shapes. This concept can be extended into three dimensions, with composite solids being made by adding or subtracting basic solids.
There are two main methods for finding the area of a composite shape: the addition method and the subtraction method
These two methods are very useful - sometimes we could use either, and sometimes we should use both.
The following applet shows how a composite shape can be broken down into pieces of basic shapes in order to find the area.
By finding the area of each simple shape, we can add them to find the area of the composite shape.
Find the total area of the figure shown.
Consider the composite shape.
Which basic shapes make up this composite shape?
Find the area of the composite shape. Round your answer to two decimal places.
There are two main methods for finding the area of a composite shape: the addition method and the subtraction method:
The addition method involves breaking the composite shape up into simple shapes and adding the areas together.
The subtraction method involves finding the area of the larger shape and subtracting the smaller areas that were cut out.
To find the volume of a composite solid, we use the same addition and subtraction methods - but this time we use basic solids rather than basic shapes.
If a prism has a complicated shape for a base, it is often easiest to find the composite area of the base as usual, using the addition or subtraction method. Then we can use the volume formula for a prism V=Ah, where A is its base area and h is its perpendicular height.
Calculate the volume of the solid correct to one decimal place.
Find the volume of this composite solid, created by passing a cylinder through a cube.
Give your answer correct to two decimal places.
If a prism has a complicated shape for a base, it is often easiest to find the composite area of the base using the addition or subtraction method. Then to find the volume we use the formula V=Ah.