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Decompose a shape into rectangles to find the area

Lesson

By breaking a shape into smaller rectangles, we can work out the area of those rectangles first. We can then add those two values together, to work out the total area of our shape.

Worked Examples

Question 1

The total area of this shape is $37$37 cm2.

If the area of rectangle $A$A is $15$15 cm2, what is the area of rectangle $B$B?

        $A$A        
               
                 
        $B$B        
                 

Question 2

Find the area of the given shape.

        $5$5 cm        
    $\uparrow$            
$5$5 cm
    $\downarrow$          
                 
$4$4 cm                
                 
        $9$9 cm        

Question 3

Find the area of the given shape.

Outcomes

GM3-2

Find areas of rectangles and volumes of cuboids by applying multiplication.

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