Trapezium · Rhombus · Polygon · Surface Area · Volume
We already know how to find the area of rectangles, squares, triangles, parallelograms, and circles. In this chapter, we extend those skills to find the areas of more complex shapes: trapeziums, rhombuses, general quadrilaterals, and polygons. We will also get our first introduction to surface area and volume of 3D solids.
The key idea throughout this chapter is splitting complex shapes into simpler shapes whose areas we already know. A trapezium can be split into triangles and rectangles. A polygon can be split into triangles. Even the surface of a 3D object can be "unfolded" into flat 2D shapes.
Ancient Indian mathematicians were pioneers in area computation. The Sulbasutras (c. 800 BCE) gave detailed methods for constructing altars of specific areas. Aryabhata (476 CE) gave the formula for the area of a triangle as "half the base times the height" in his Aryabhatiya. Brahmagupta (628 CE) discovered the formula for the area of a cyclic quadrilateral, a result that was not known in the Western world until much later.
A trapezium (called "trapezoid" in some countries) is a quadrilateral with exactly one pair of parallel sides. The parallel sides are called the bases, and the perpendicular distance between them is the height.
Draw a diagonal of the trapezium to split it into two triangles. Both triangles share the same height h (the distance between the parallel sides).
Area of trapezium = Area of Triangle 1 + Area of Triangle 2
= ½ × a × h + ½ × b × h
= ½ × (a + b) × h
A rhombus is a quadrilateral with all four sides equal. Its diagonals bisect each other at right angles. This special property gives us a neat area formula using the diagonals.
The diagonals of a rhombus divide it into 4 right-angled triangles. Since the diagonals bisect each other:
For a general quadrilateral (one that is neither a parallelogram, nor a trapezium, nor a rhombus), we use the strategy of splitting it into two triangles by drawing one diagonal.
If we draw diagonal AC = d, then:
To find the area of a polygon (a closed figure with 5 or more sides), we split it into triangles and/or trapeziums whose areas we can calculate, then add them up.
Choose one vertex and draw diagonals to all non-adjacent vertices. This divides an n-sided polygon into (n − 2) triangles.
Area of pentagon = Area(△ABC) + Area(△ACD) + Area(△ADE)
For irregular polygons, another effective method is to draw perpendiculars from each vertex to a fixed base line. This creates a series of trapeziums (and possibly triangles at the ends). Calculate each trapezium area and add/subtract as needed.
Composite shapes (also called combined shapes) are figures made by joining two or more simple shapes, or by cutting out a shape from a larger one.
The surface area of a 3D solid is the total area of all its outer faces. Think of it as the amount of wrapping paper needed to cover the solid completely. We study three basic solids: cube, cuboid, and cylinder.
A cuboid has 6 rectangular faces: top & bottom (l × b each), front & back (l × h each), left & right (b × h each).
A cube is a special cuboid where l = b = h = a (all edges are equal). Each face is a square of side a.
When we "unroll" a cylinder, the curved surface becomes a rectangle with width = circumference = 2πr and height = h.
The volume of a 3D solid is the amount of space it occupies. We measure volume in cubic units (cm³, m³, litres, etc.). Remember: 1 litre = 1000 cm³ and 1 m³ = 1000 litres.
| Shape | Formula | Variables |
|---|---|---|
| Trapezium | ½ × (a + b) × h | a, b = parallel sides; h = height |
| Rhombus | ½ × d₁ × d₂ | d₁, d₂ = diagonals |
| General Quadrilateral | ½ × d × (h₁ + h₂) | d = diagonal; h₁, h₂ = perpendicular heights |
| Equilateral Triangle | (√3/4) × a² | a = side |
| Regular Hexagon | (3√3/2) × a² | a = side |
| Solid | TSA | LSA / CSA |
|---|---|---|
| Cuboid (l, b, h) | 2(lb + bh + hl) | 2h(l + b) |
| Cube (edge a) | 6a² | 4a² |
| Cylinder (r, h) | 2πr(r + h) | 2πrh |
| Solid | Volume | Key Fact |
|---|---|---|
| Cuboid | l × b × h | 1 m³ = 1000 litres |
| Cube | a³ | 1 litre = 1000 cm³ |
| Cylinder | πr²h | 1 mL = 1 cm³ |
Click on an option to see if your answer is correct. The correct option will turn green.
Make sure you can confidently do each of these before the exam: