Perimeter and area

Question 2

A rectangular rug is shown below. It is made up of individual squares. Each square has a side length of 1 m.

         
         
         

a What is the area the rug covers?
b What is the perimeter of the rug?

Solution

a
Method 1
  We could count up the individual squares which make up the rug and this would total to 15 squares. This is 15 m².
 
Method 2
  An alternative method would be to work out the dimensions of the rectangular rug. The rug has a length of 5 squares in length and a width of 3 squares, therefore:
   
 
A = L × W
  = 5 × 3
  = 15 m².
  The area the rug covers is 15 m².
   
b We add up all the individual edges of the rug — 2 lengths and 2 widths.
   
 
P = 2L + 2W
  = 2 × 3 + 2 × 5
  = 6 + 10
  = 16 m.
  The distance around the outside of the rug is 16 m.