Find the Area of Compound Squares and Rectangles

We know the area of squares and rectangles as:

Area  = length × width

 

 In the case of a square, the length and the width should be the same.            

 

 We can use this information to find the area of compound shapes.

 

Let's look at a typical question.

 

Example

A shape is formed from two squares.

Calculate the shaded area below.

 

 

Answer

Area of large square = length x width

12 × 12 = 144 cm²

Area of small square = length x width

 2 x 2 = 4 cm²

We can find the shaded area by subtracting the area of the small square from the large square.

Shaded area = 144 - 4

Shaded area = 144 − 4 = 140 cm²

 

Let's try some questions like this!