Which sentence describes a way to determine the area of the polygon shown?
Understand the Problem
The question is asking which method can be used to calculate the area of a specific polygon shown in the image. It presents multiple choices involving different shapes and area calculations.
Answer
Find the area of a rectangle and then subtract the area of a triangle.
Answer for screen readers
The best method to calculate the area is: Find the area of a rectangle and then subtract the area of a triangle.
Steps to Solve
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Identify the Polygon Type Recognize the shape of the polygon: It resembles a rectangle with a small triangle cut out.
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Break the Shape into Known Areas To find the area of the polygon, it's helpful to divide it into a rectangle and a triangle.
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Calculate the Area of the Rectangle Use the area formula for rectangles: $$ \text{Area} = \text{length} \times \text{width} $$ Assuming the rectangle's dimensions are known.
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Calculate the Area of the Triangle Use the area formula for triangles: $$ \text{Area} = \frac{1}{2} \times \text{base} \times \text{height} $$ Assuming the triangle's dimensions are also known.
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Combine the Areas Subtract the triangle's area from the rectangle's area: $$ \text{Total Area} = \text{Area of Rectangle} - \text{Area of Triangle} $$
The best method to calculate the area is: Find the area of a rectangle and then subtract the area of a triangle.
More Information
This method effectively combines the areas of simple geometric shapes (rectangle and triangle) to calculate the area of a more complex polygon. This technique is particularly useful in geometry.
Tips
- Confusing the area formulas for triangles and rectangles.
- Forgetting to subtract the area of the triangle when calculating the total area.
- Misidentifying the shapes used for calculation, leading to errors in dimensions.
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