Science, Tech, Math › Math Calculating Area - A Primer Share Flipboard Email Print Math Resources Math Tutorials Geometry Arithmetic Pre Algebra & Algebra Statistics Exponential Decay Worksheets By Grade By Deb Russell Deb Russell Math Expert Deb Russell is a school principal and teacher with over 25 years of experience teaching mathematics at all levels. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on March 17, 2017 Understanding how to calculate area is important to understand at the early age of 8-10. Calculating area is a pre-algebra skill that should be well understood prior to beginning algebra. Students by grade 4 need to understand the early concepts of calculating the area of a variety of shapes. Formulas for calculating area use letters which are identified below. For example the formula for the area of a circle will look like this: A = π r 2 This formula means that the area is equal to 3.14 times the radius squared. The area of a rectangle would look like this: A = lw This formula means that the area of the rectangle is equal to the length times the width. Area of a triangle - A= ( b x h ) / 2. .( See Image 1). To best understand the area of a triangle, consider the fact that a triangle forms 1/2 of a rectangle. To determine the area of a rectangle , we use length times width ( l x w ). We use the terms base and height for a triangle, but the concept is the same. (See Image 2 ). Area of Sphere - ( the surface area ) The formula is 4 π r 2 For a 3-D object the 3-D area is termed as the volume.Area calculations are used in many sciences and studies and have practical daily uses such as determining the amount of paint required to paint a room. Recognizing the various shapes that are involved is essential to calculating area for complex shapes. (See images) Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Russell, Deb. "Calculating Area - A Primer." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/calculating-area-a-primer-2312230. Russell, Deb. (2023, April 5). Calculating Area - A Primer. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/calculating-area-a-primer-2312230 Russell, Deb. "Calculating Area - A Primer." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/calculating-area-a-primer-2312230 (accessed June 9, 2023). copy citation