How Do You Calculate The Area Of An Irregular Shape?
An irregular shape is one with sides of varying length. An irregular shape usually has four or more sides. Calculating area on these shapes involves breaking the shape down into common shapes. When calculating area, most people automatically think of squares, rectangles, triangles and circles. The reason is because these shapes all have set formulas for calculating area. All irregular shapes contain these more common shapes. Being able to see the shapes within shapes is the key to calculating the area of irregular shapes. Draw the shape on a grid or graph paper. This will help you divide your shape into pieces. Draw dotted lines to divide the shape into squares, rectangles or triangles. For instance, if you have an “L” shape, you can divide the shape into two rectangles. Be sure your shapes do not overlap. Calculate the area of each individual shape. The graph paper will help you determine the length and width of each shape. Add the resulting areas together to get the final area for th
