Video Transcript
The area of a trapezoid is given by
𝐴 equals a half ℎ times 𝑏 sub one plus 𝑏 sub two. Use the formula to find the area of
a trapezoid where ℎ equals six, 𝑏 sub one equals 14, and 𝑏 sub two equals
eight.
In this question, we’re already
given the general formula for the area of a trapezoid, recalling that a trapezoid is
a quadrilateral that has a pair of parallel sides. In the formula, 𝑏 sub one and 𝑏
sub two are the two parallel sides. The ℎ is the perpendicular
height. If we wanted to draw the trapezoid
that we’re given with ℎ equals six, 𝑏 sub one equals 14, and 𝑏 sub two equals
eight, it might look something like this.
But in this question, it doesn’t
really matter what it looks like because we can simply plug in the values that we’re
given into the formula. So, we’d have 𝐴 equals a half
times six, which was the height, times 14 plus eight, that’s 𝑏 sub one and 𝑏 sub
two. A half of six is three, and 14 plus
eight is 22. Three times 22 will give us 66. And that’s our answer for the area
of a trapezoid. We weren’t given any units in the
question but, of course, area units will always be square units.
