Solve for the area of a trapezoid with bases of length 4 and 5, with a height of 6.
Hint
The area of a trapezoid is always A = ½(b1 + b2)h.
Answer
27 units2
Example 2
Solve for the area of a trapezoid with bases of length 6 inches and 4 feet, with a height of 6 feet.
Hint
Make sure to convert your units (1 foot = 12 inches).
Answer
13.5 ft2 or 1944 in2
Example 3
Solve for the height of a trapezoid with an area of 24 in2 and bases with lengths of 16 and 8 in.
Hint
Rearrange the area equation to solve for h.
Answer
2 inches
Example 4
A trapezoid with an area of 8 units2 and a height of 4 units has two bases such that one base is three times as long as the other. What are the lengths of the bases?
Hint
Plug b1 = x and b2 = 3x into the area of a trapezoid equation.
Answer
b1 = 1 and b2 = 3
Example 5
What's the area of the trapezoid below?
Hint
Which one of Pythagoras's many theorems should we use to find the height?
Answer
32 ft2
Example 6
What's the area of the trapezoid below?
Hint
The length of the missing base is the small base plus the amount we calculate using the Pythagorean Theorem where the hypotenuse is—have we said too much?
