Area of a Trapezoid


Troy Morris

Trapezoid- a quadrilateral in which one pair of opposite sides are parallel. DC is parallel to AB.

The two sides of the trapezoid that are parallel are called bases. The two sides that are not parallel are called legs.

Isosceles Trapezoid- a trapezoid in which the two legs are congruent. Each pair of base angles are congruent.

* The height of a trapezoid is a perpendicular line segment that joins the two bases.

To find the area of a trapezoid, we must add the lengths of the two bases together, multiply the sum by the height, and then multipy that product by 1/2. Therefore, Area = 1/2 * height * (base1 + base 2 ).

Problems: Area of a Trapezoid

1) The height of a trapezoid is 6cm, the bases are 10 cm and 24 cm, find the area.

2) The area of a trapezoid is 226 sq. m., the bases are 4 m and 20 m, find the height.

3) In an isosceles trapezoid, the legs are 6 cm, the bases are 10 cm and 36 cm, find the height.