What does it mean to say that a shape has an area of 8 square inches?

To say that a shape is 8 square inches is to say that the area within the shape (i.e. the area defined by its outline) covers 8 square inches; a square inch is the amount of space contained in a 1 inch by 1 inch square.

Within the simplest shapes, squares and rectangles, a square inch is simply the shape's length multiplied by its width; so a rectangle that was 4 inches long and 3 inches wide would cover 12 square inches (4 x 3 = 12).

Other shapes can be more complicated to figure out, for instance to find the area of a circle you use the formula π x the radius2.

So for a circle that has a radius of 3 inches you would calculate its area as:

π x 32, or 3.14159 x 9 = 28.27431

So the area of a circle with a radius of 3" is 28.27431 square inches.

Education.com offers 10 tips for success with math.

In the news, some states are moving to repeal the much-debated Common Core math and English standards developed by state and nonprofit leaders, which have been embraced by President Obama's Education Department.

Tag: rectangle 
Friday, June 20 2014
Source: http://www.basic-mathematics.com/area-of-shapes.html