The Area of a Trapezoid
A trapezoid is a quadrilateral whit one pair of parallel sides called the bases, and two non-parallel sides called the legs.
Let's call b1 and b2 the length of the bases and h the height, measured as a perpendicular segment to both bases. The area of the trapezoid is:
[tex]A=\frac{b_1+b_2}{2}\cdot h[/tex]
In the figure, all of the measures are given (one of them is not necessary):
b1 = 5 in, b2 = 17 in, h = 5 in.
In this particular trapezoid, the length of one of the legs happens to coincide with the height. Applying the formula:
[tex]\begin{gathered} A=\frac{5in+17in}{2}\cdot5in \\ \text{Calculate:} \\ A=\frac{22in}{2}\cdot5in \\ A=11\cdot5in^2 \\ A=55in^2 \end{gathered}[/tex]
The area is 55 square inches.
