Area of a Parallelogram

Area  =   base  ×  height
Area =  b  ×  h  = or  bh

If the area is given, then the height, h or the base b may be found as:

Height, h = \( \frac{Area}{Base, \: b} \)

Base, b = \( \frac{Area}{Height, \: h} \)

Example 8.4.1:

Calculate the area of the parallelogram below:

Solution:

Base (b) = 15 cm

Height (h) = 10 cm

Area  =   bh   =  15 cm  ×  10 cm

= 150 cm²

Example 8.4.2:

A parallelogram has an area of 45 cm² and its base is 5 cm. Find the height of the parallelogram.

Solution:

Area of parallelogram = 45 cm²

Base of parallelogram   =  5 cm

height, h = \( \frac{Area}{base} \\ = \frac{45\:cm^2}{5\:cm}\\ = \frac{45\:cm \: \times \: \not{cm}}{5\: \not{cm}}\\ = \scriptsize 9\:cm\)

The height of the parallelogram is 9 cm