Area of a rectangle
Area A = w x h

AB = DC = width = w
AD = BC = h = height

Example

ABCD is a rectangle of width w = 5 cm and of height h = 2 cm
Area A of the rectangle = w x h = 5 x 2 = 10 cm²

Calculate the area of a rectangle

Width
Height
Area of the rectangle

Rectangle

A rectangle is a four-sided polygon with opposite sides equal in length and four right angles. Its properties include a straightforward area formula: A = length × width.

The sum of interior angles is always 360 degrees. Diagonals bisect each other and create congruent triangles. Rectangles can be inscribed in circles, with the diagonal as the diameter.

Properties of a rectangle

Equal opposite sides: a rectangle has two pairs of opposite sides that are equal in length.

Right angles: all four angles of a rectangle are right angles (90 degrees).

Opposite sides are parallel: the opposite sides of a rectangle are parallel to each other.

Diagonals are equal: the diagonals of a rectangle are congruent and bisect each other.

Interior angles sum to 360 degrees: the sum of the interior angles of a rectangle is always 360 degrees.

Diagonals bisect each other: each diagonal of a rectangle divides the rectangle into two congruent right-angled triangles.

Symmetry: rectangles exhibit bilateral symmetry, meaning they can be divided into two equal halves along a line.

Inscribed in circles: a rectangle can be inscribed in a circle, with the diagonal as the diameter.

Examples

You can find below ten examples of calculating the area of a rectangle. These examples demonstrate the application of the area formula for rectangles across different units of measurement.

Example 1:

Length = 5 units
Width = 8 units
Area = Length × Width = 5 × 8 = 40 square units

Example 2:

Length = 12 meters
Width = 6 meters
Area = Length × Width = 12 × 6 = 72 square meters

Example 3:

Length = 9 feet
Width = 3 feet
Area = Length × Width = 9 × 3 = 27 square feet

Example 4:

Length = 15 cm
Width = 10 cm
Area = Length × Width = 15 × 10 = 150 square centimeters

Example 5:

Length = 7.5 inches
Width = 4 inches
Area = Length × Width = 7.5 × 4 = 30 square inches

Example 6:

Length = 20 yards
Width = 5 yards
Area = Length × Width = 20 × 5 = 100 square yards

Example 7:

Length = 18 meters
Width = 2.5 meters
Area = Length × Width = 18 × 2.5 = 45 square meters

Example 8:

Length = 14 feet
Width = 7 feet
Area = Length × Width = 14 × 7 = 98 square feet

Example 9:

Length = 25 cm
Width = 3.5 cm
Area = Length × Width = 25 × 3.5 = 87.5 square centimeters

Example 10:

Length = 16 inches
Width = 9 inches
Area = Length × Width = 16 × 9 = 144 square inches