How to find the area of an irregular shape rectangle

To find the area of irregular shapes, the first thing to do is to divide the irregular shape into regular shapes that you can recognize such as triangles, rectangles, circles, squares and so forth...

Then, find the area of these individual shapes and add them up!

Example #1:

The figure above has two regular shapes. It has a square and half a circle

Find the area for each of those two shapes and add the results

Square

Area of the square = s2

Area of the square = 42

Area of the square = 16

Circle

Area of the circle = pi × r2

Notice that the radius of the circle is 4/2 = 2

Area of the circle = 3.14 × 22

Area of the circle = 3.14 × 4

Area of the circle = 12.56

Since you only have half a circle, you have to multiply the result by 1/2

Area of the half circle = 1/2 × 12.56 = 6.28

Area of this shape = 16 + 6.28 = 22.28

Example #2:

How to find the area of an irregular shape rectangle

The figure above has three regular shapes. Starting from top to bottom, it has a triangle, a rectangle, and a trapezoid

Find the area for each of those three shapes and add the results

Triangle

Area of the triangle = (base × height)/2

Area of the triangle = (3 × 4)/2

Area of the triangle = 12/2

Area of the triangle = 6

Rectangle

Area of the rectangle = length × width

Area of the rectangle = 3 × 10

Area of the rectangle = 30

Trapezoid

Area of the trapezoid = ((b1 + b2) × h)/2

Area of the trapezoid = ((3 + 5) × 2)/2

Area of the trapezoid = (8) × 2/2

Area of the trapezoid = 16/2

Area of the trapezoid = 8

Area of this shape = 6 + 30 + 8 = 44

Example #3:

The area of irregular shapes can be as challenging as this last example, so study it carefully!

How to find the area of an irregular shape rectangle

The figure above has 4 regular shapes. It has a triangle, two rectangles, and half a circle

Find the area for each of those 4 shapes and add the results

Rectangle

Area of the rectangle = length × width

Area of the rectangle = (12 × 16)

Area of the rectangle = 192

Since we have two of the same rectangle, the area is 192 + 192 = 384

Triangle

Notice that the longest side of the rectangle is the base of the triangle and the short side of the rectangle is the height of the triangle

So,

Area of the triangle = (base × height)/2

Area of the triangle = (16 × 12)/2

Area of the triangle = (192)/2

Area of the triangle = 96

Circle

To get the area of the half circle, we need to know the diameter

Notice that the diameter is the hypotenuse of a right triangle, so use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the length of the diameter

c2 = a2 + b2

c2 = 122 + 162

c2 = 144 + 256

c2 = 400

c = √400

c = 20

Therefore, the diameter is 20. Since the diameter is 20, the radius is 10

Area of the circle = pi × r2

Area of the circle = 3.14 × 102

Area of the circle = 3.14 × 100

Area of the circle = 314

Since you only have half a circle, you have to multiply the result by 1/2

1/2 × 314 = 157

Area of this shape = 384 + 96 + 157 = 637

Here we go! I hope these good examples were very helpful in helping you how to get the area of irregular shapes.

Any questions on how to get the area of irregular shapes? Contact me.

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Learning Outcomes

  • Combine area of regular shapes to find the area of irregular shapes.

So far, we have found area for rectangles, triangles, trapezoids, and circles. An irregular figure is a figure that is not a standard geometric shape. Its area cannot be calculated using any of the standard area formulas. But some irregular figures are made up of two or more standard geometric shapes. To find the area of one of these irregular figures, we can split it into figures whose formulas we know and then add the areas of the figures.

example

Find the area of the shaded region.

How to find the area of an irregular shape rectangle

Solution
The given figure is irregular, but we can break it into two rectangles. The area of the shaded region will be the sum of the areas of both rectangles.

How to find the area of an irregular shape rectangle

The blue rectangle has a width of [latex]12[/latex] and a length of [latex]4[/latex]. The red rectangle has a width of [latex]2[/latex], but its length is not labeled. The right side of the figure is the length of the red rectangle plus the length of the blue rectangle. Since the right side of the blue rectangle is [latex]4[/latex] units long, the length of the red rectangle must be [latex]6[/latex] units.

How to find the area of an irregular shape rectangle

How to find the area of an irregular shape rectangle

The area of the figure is [latex]60[/latex] square units.
Is there another way to split this figure into two rectangles? Try it, and make sure you get the same area.

try it

The following video gives another example of how to find the area of an “L” shaped polygon using the dimensions of two rectangles.

example

Find the area of the shaded region.

How to find the area of an irregular shape rectangle

try it

example

A high school track is shaped like a rectangle with a semi-circle (half a circle) on each end. The rectangle has length [latex]105[/latex] meters and width [latex]68[/latex] meters. Find the area enclosed by the track. Round your answer to the nearest hundredth.

How to find the area of an irregular shape rectangle

try it

The next video example is similar to the previous example, but the object for which we find area only contains one semi-circle.

How do you find the area of an irregular rectangle?

How to use irregular area calculator?.
Step 1: Measure all sides of the area in one unit (Feet, Meter, Inches or any other)..
Step 2: Enter length of horizontal sides into Length 1 and Length 2. And Width of the vertical sides into Width 1 and Width 2. ... .
Step 3: Press calculate button. ... .
Our Formula: Area = b × h..

What is an irregular shaped rectangle called?

What is an irregular quadrilateral? Irregular quadrilaterals are: rectangle, trapezoid, parallelogram, kite, and rhombus. They are symmetrical, but are not required to have congruent sides or angles.