Area of a Trapezoid Practice

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Question 1

Given a trapezoid where its two parallel sides are 3cm and 5cm. Also, its height is 4cm. Find the area of this trapezoid.

Answer

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Select and check your answer...

A. 16 cm2
B. 16 cm
C. 8 cm2
D. 8 cm

Step by Step Solution

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    Step 1

    The picture below shows the trapezoid:

    a trapezoid with the height of 4cm the parallel sides of 3cm and 5cm
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    Step 2

    To calculate the area, we can start with the formula for the area of a trapezoid:

    formula for the area of a trapezoid
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    Step 3

    Since the parallel sides are given as 3cm and 5cm, we can substitute a with 3 and substitute b with 4. Similarly, since the height is given as 4cm, we can substitute h with 4. After doing so, we can calculate for A, as shown below:

    Calculating the area of a trapezoid
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    Step 4

    Now, the calculated number 16 has no meaning unless we include the unit for it. Since the base is in cm, the unit for the area will be cm2. Hence:

    A = 16 cm2
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    Step 5

    Clearly, the answer is A.