Area and Volume
Area and volume questions are some of the most predictable points on the test — if you know the formulas, they're almost free. The catch is knowing which formula to grab and not mixing up perimeter with area.
Triangle area uses the base and the perpendicular height — here the two legs of a right triangle.
Cylinder volume = πr²h: the circle's area πr² multiplied by the height.
Finally, watch for the triangle height trap: the height must be perpendicular to the base. In a right triangle the two legs serve as base and height, but in other triangles the height may be a separate dashed line, and a slanted side is not the height.
Check your understanding with a question from this topic:
A rectangle has length 3 and width 14. What is its area?
Enter a whole number, fraction (e.g. 3/4), or decimal (e.g. .75).
Worked examples
A rectangle has a length of 9 and a width of 4. What is the area of the rectangle?
A triangle has a base of 10 and a height of 6. What is the area of the triangle?
A cylinder has a radius of 3 and a height of 7. What is the volume of the cylinder? (Use the formula V = πr²h and give your answer in terms of π.)
Common pitfalls
Perimeter adds the sides (linear units); area multiplies dimensions (square units). Read whether the question wants the distance around or the space inside before choosing a formula.
Triangle area is ½ × base × height, not base × height. Skipping the half doubles your answer — and the test always offers that doubled value as a wrong choice.
The height of a triangle must be perpendicular to the base. A tilted side is longer than the true height, so plugging it in gives a too-big area. Look for the right-angle mark or a dashed perpendicular line.
Circle and cylinder formulas use the radius. If the problem gives the diameter, halve it first. Forgetting this makes circle area off by a factor of 4 (since the radius gets squared).
Key takeaways
Rectangle area = length × width; triangle area = ½ × base × height; circle area = πr².
Volume of a box = lwh; cylinder = πr²h — square the radius, then multiply by height.
Perimeter/circumference use plain units, area uses square units, volume uses cubic units.
When given the area or volume and asked for a side, plug into the formula and solve backwards.
Always use the radius (half the diameter) and keep the ½ in triangle area.
Watch & learn
Curated Khan Academy walkthroughs on Area and Volume. They're complementary to this lesson — watch one if a written explanation isn't clicking, or after to reinforce.
Try it yourself
5 practice questions on Area and Volume, drawn from the question bank. The tutor is one click away if you get stuck.