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Secondary 1 · Mathematics
2D shapes · Shapes

Composite Figures and Measurement Problems

Yaritza wants to paint the front of her house in Santiago: a rectangle with a triangular roof on top, a door, and a window. No single formula works for the whole figure at once. How do you work out how much paint she needs? The key is to decompose the figure into pieces you already know.

Decomposing a Composite Figure

Decomposition of a house-shaped figure into a lower rectangle and an upper triangular roof. rectangle triangle house = rectangle + roof
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The figure shows a house formed by a rectangle $8$ m wide and $5$ m high, and a triangular roof $3$ m high. a) Calculate the area of the rectangular part. b) Calculate…

The figure shows a house formed by a rectangle $8$ m wide and $5$ m high, and a triangular roof $3$ m high.

3 m 5 m 8 m
  1. a) Calculate the area of the rectangular part.
  2. b) Calculate the area of the triangular roof.
  3. c) What is the total area of the facade?
Solve
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A giant letter 'T' for a photo backdrop is formed by two rectangles: the top crossbar, $120$ cm long and $30$ cm high, and the vertical stem, $90$ cm high and $30$ cm…

A giant letter 'T' for a photo backdrop is formed by two rectangles: the top crossbar, $120$ cm long and $30$ cm high, and the vertical stem, $90$ cm high and $30$ cm wide, attached below and centered.

  1. a) Calculate the total area of the sign.
  2. b) If the material costs $\text{RD\$}\ 510$ per square meter, how much does the sign cost? First, express the area in $\text{m}^2$.
Solve
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An arrow-shaped sign is formed by a rectangle $30$ cm long and $12$ cm high (the body) and a triangle with base $12$ cm and height $9$ cm (the tip). a) Draw a sketch of…

An arrow-shaped sign is formed by a rectangle $30$ cm long and $12$ cm high (the body) and a triangle with base $12$ cm and height $9$ cm (the tip).

  1. a) Draw a sketch of the sign in your notebook.
  2. b) Calculate the total area of the sign.
  3. c) If the vinyl to print it costs $\text{RD\$}\ 900$ per square meter, how much does the material for the sign cost? First express the area in $\text{m}^2$.
Solve

Adding and Subtracting Areas

Sometimes the figure has a hole: a part that must be removed instead of added (a window in a wall, a pool in a yard, the photo inside a frame).

Rectangular wall with a rectangular hole inside it representing a window. wall window painted wall = whole wall − window
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The frame in the figure is a rectangle $30$ cm by $24$ cm, and the photo inside measures $24$ cm by $18$ cm. a) Calculate the area of the outer rectangle and that of the…

The frame in the figure is a rectangle $30$ cm by $24$ cm, and the photo inside measures $24$ cm by $18$ cm.

Photo 24 cm × 18 cm Frame 30 cm 24 cm 24 cm 18 cm
  1. a) Calculate the area of the outer rectangle and that of the photo.
  2. b) What is the area of the frame (the orange area)?
  3. c) How wide is the frame at the top? Explain how you calculated it.
Solve
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We want to paint a rectangular wall $5$ m wide and $2.5$ m high that has a window measuring $1.5$ m by $1.2$ m. a) What surface area needs to be painted? b) A tin of…

We want to paint a rectangular wall $5$ m wide and $2.5$ m high that has a window measuring $1.5$ m by $1.2$ m.

  1. a) What surface area needs to be painted?
  2. b) A tin of paint covers $10\ \text{m}^2$ and costs $\text{RD\$}\ 1\,494$. How many tins are needed to apply two coats of paint? How much will they cost?
Solve
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To find the area of the frontage of a house consisting of a rectangle $8$ m wide and $5$ m high with a triangular roof of height $3$ m, a student calculated…

To find the area of the frontage of a house consisting of a rectangle $8$ m wide and $5$ m high with a triangular roof of height $3$ m, a student calculated $8 \times 5 + 8 \times 3 = 64$ and answered $64\ \text{m}^2$.

  1. a) Explain what mistake she made in calculating the area of the roof.
  2. b) Calculate the correct area of the frontage.
  3. c) The frontage also has a door measuring $2$ m by $1$ m and a square window of side length $1.5$ m. What surface area needs to be painted?
Solve

Figures with Circular Parts

Rectangular yard with a circle in the center representing a pool that must be subtracted. yard − circular pool
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The garden in the diagram is a rectangle measuring $12$ m by $8$ m with a circular swimming pool of radius $2$ m inside it. a) Calculate the area of the whole garden. b)…

The garden in the diagram is a rectangle measuring $12$ m by $8$ m with a circular swimming pool of radius $2$ m inside it.

Pool r = 2 m Lawn (Area = ?) 12 m 8 m
  1. a) Calculate the area of the whole garden.
  2. b) Calculate the area of the pool (take $\pi \approx 3.14$).
  3. c) What area of lawn remains?
  4. d) How many meters of fencing are needed to enclose the entire garden?
Solve
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The diagram shows a running track made up of two straight sections of $80$ m and two semicircles of radius $20$ m at the ends. a) How long is each of the two curved…

The diagram shows a running track made up of two straight sections of $80$ m and two semicircles of radius $20$ m at the ends.

r = 20 m 80 m 40 m
  1. a) How long is each of the two curved sections? Remember that two identical semicircles form a complete circle (take $\pi \approx 3.14$).
  2. b) Calculate the total length of one full lap of the track along its inside edge.
  3. c) The lanes of the track are $1.22$ m wide. Does a runner cover the same distance running in the inside lane as in the outside lane? Reason your answer without doing calculations.
Solve

Perimeter of a Composite Figure

The perimeter is the length of the outline. It is not the sum of the perimeters of the pieces: the sides where two pieces touch end up on the inside and do not count. The safe way is to walk around the outer edge and add up each stretch.

For arcs, two equal semicircles form a circumference: $2\pi r$.

Now a surprising idea. From a square with $6$ cm sides, we cut out a small square with $1$ cm sides in three different places. The area always drops by $1\ \text{cm}^2$, but the perimeter...

Three squares with a small cutout: at a corner, in the middle of a side, and in the interior as a hole. corner middle of a side hole
  • Corner: the new edge replaces the piece that was removed. The perimeter does not change: $24$ cm.

  • Middle of a side: $1$ cm of edge is lost, but $3$ cm are gained. Perimeter: $24 + 2 = 26$ cm.

  • Hole: all of the edge is kept and $4$ cm are added. Perimeter: $24 + 4 = 28$ cm.

So when you remove a piece, the area goes down, but the perimeter can stay the same or increase. Area and perimeter are different measurements.

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A wooden shield is pentagonal in shape: it is a rectangle $20$ cm wide and $24$ cm high, topped at the bottom by a triangle with a base of $20$ cm (the tip of the…

A wooden shield is pentagonal in shape: it is a rectangle $20$ cm wide and $24$ cm high, topped at the bottom by a triangle with a base of $20$ cm (the tip of the shield) and a height of $10$ cm.

  1. a) Calculate the area of the shield.
  2. b) We want to edge the entire outline with a metallic tape. The sloping sides at the tip measure $14.1$ cm each. How many centimeters of tape are needed?
Solve
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We want to construct an L-shaped mural on a wall, formed by two rectangles: a vertical one $3$ m high and $0.8$ m wide, and a horizontal one $1.6$ m long and $0.8$ m…

We want to construct an L-shaped mural on a wall, formed by two rectangles: a vertical one $3$ m high and $0.8$ m wide, and a horizontal one $1.6$ m long and $0.8$ m high sticking out to the right from the bottom of the first, without overlapping it.

  1. a) Draw a sketch and calculate the total area of the mural.
  2. b) The paint for the mural is bought in tins that cover $2\ \text{m}^2$ each. How many tins are needed?
  3. c) What is the outer perimetre of the mural?

You can do it on paper and send a photo with your answer.

Solve
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A small square of side length $2$ cm is cut out from a square piece of card of side length $8$ cm. a) Calculate the area of the resulting shape. Does it depend on where…

A small square of side length $2$ cm is cut out from a square piece of card of side length $8$ cm.

  1. a) Calculate the area of the resulting shape. Does it depend on where the cut-out is made?
  2. b) Calculate the perimetre of the resulting shape in each of these three cases: the cut-out is made at a corner, in the middle of a side and in the interior of the card (a hole).
  3. c) A student claims: "If removing a piece from a shape decreases its area, the perimetre always decreases too." Is this true? Use your results from part b) to justify your answer.
Solve

Measurement Problems with Costs

Many problems end by asking for a price or an amount of material. You already know how to calculate area or length; there is one more step: multiply by the unit price and, if the material is sold in whole pieces, round up.

Seven baseboard strips of 2 meters: 13.1 meters are needed and 0.9 meters are left over on the last strip. 7 strips of 2 m = 14 m 13.1 m needed: 0.9 m left over (orange area)
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A rectangular room measuring $4.5$ m by $3.2$ m has two doors measuring $0.9$ m wide and a built-in closet occupying $1.8$ m of one of the walls. a) Calculate the…

A rectangular room measuring $4.5$ m by $3.2$ m has two doors measuring $0.9$ m wide and a built-in closet occupying $1.8$ m of one of the walls.

  1. a) Calculate the perimeter of the room.
  2. b) How many meters of baseboard are needed? Remember that baseboard is not placed across doorways or where the closet is.
  3. c) Baseboard costs $\text{RD\$}\ 405$ per meter and is only sold in strips of $2$ m. How many strips need to be bought and how much will they cost?
Solve
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A rectangular swimming pool measuring $10$ m long and $4$ m wide is surrounded by a path $1.5$ m wide. a) What are the total length and width of the overall area (pool…

A rectangular swimming pool measuring $10$ m long and $4$ m wide is surrounded by a path $1.5$ m wide.

  1. a) What are the total length and width of the overall area (pool plus path)? Make a sketch in your notebook.
  2. b) Calculate the area of the path.
  3. c) The paving slabs for the path cost $\text{RD\$}\ 1\,974$ per square meter installed. How much will it cost to pave it?
  4. d) For safety, the entire outer edge needs to be fenced. If fencing costs $\text{RD\$}\ 870$ per meter, what is the total cost of the work (paving plus fencing)?
Solve
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A trapezium-shaped park has a longer base of $50$ m, a shorter base of $30$ m and a height of $24$ m. Inside it, there is a triangular play area with a base of $18$ m…

A trapezium-shaped park has a longer base of $50$ m, a shorter base of $30$ m and a height of $24$ m. Inside it, there is a triangular play area with a base of $18$ m and a height of $12$ m; the rest is grass.

  1. a) Calculate the total area of the park.
  2. b) Calculate the area covered by grass.
  3. c) To sow the grass, $1$ kg of seed is needed for every $40\ \text{m}^2$, and the seed is sold in bags of $5$ kg at $\text{RD\$}\ 1\,344$ per bag. How many bags need to be bought and how much will they cost?
Solve

Estimating Areas with a Grid

When a figure doesn't have "clean" sides or arcs (a stain, a lake on a map), you estimate its area by counting the squares of a grid.

Figure with an irregular outline on a grid for estimating its area by counting squares. complete squares + half of the partial ones
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In the grid shown in the figure, each square represents $1\ \text{cm}^2$. The blue outline is the edge of a small lake. a) Count the squares that lie entirely inside the…

In the grid shown in the figure, each square represents $1\ \text{cm}^2$. The blue outline is the edge of a small lake.

LAKE Each square = 1 cm² Grid side length = 1 cm Approx. area = ?
  1. a) Count the squares that lie entirely inside the lake.
  2. b) Count those that the lake touches only in part.
  3. c) Give an estimate of the area of the lake, explaining the criterion you used.
Solve
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An ink blot has fallen onto grid paper with grid squares of $1\ \text{cm}^2$. Counting carefully, the blot completely covers $14$ squares and partially touches another…

An ink blot has fallen onto grid paper with grid squares of $1\ \text{cm}^2$. Counting carefully, the blot completely covers $14$ squares and partially touches another $18$.

  1. a) Between which two values is the area of the blot guaranteed to lie? Reason your answer.
  2. b) Give a reasonable estimate of the area and explain the criteria you used.
  3. c) What is the maximum possible error of your estimate?
Solve

Back to the beginning: for Yaritza's house front, you decompose it into a rectangle and a triangle, add their areas, subtract the door and the window, and with the total area you calculate how much paint to buy, rounding up.

Summary

See all the exercises in this section