Have you ever seen a garden, a book, a floor mat, or maybe even a playground?
All of these things take up some space on the ground.
The amount of space a shape covers is called its Area.
In simple words:
Area is the space inside a shape.
For example:
A football field has a big area.
A notebook page has a smaller area.
A postage stamp has a really small area.
So, the more space a shape has inside, the bigger its area.
Why Do We Need Area?
Area is useful in everyday life.
When farmers want to know how much land they have for growing crops, they calculate area.
When builders plan to make a house, they measure the land’s area.
When you buy a carpet, you check if its area matches your floor’s area.
Without area, it would be really hard to deal with spaces in real life.
Units of Area
Just like length is measured in centimeters, meters, or kilometers, area is measured in square units.
Some common units of area are:
Square centimeter (cm²) – for small objects like books, notebooks, and stamps.
Square meter (m²) – for bigger spaces like rooms, floors, and carpets.
Square kilometer (km²) – for very large areas like cities, parks, or forests.
The word ‘square’ comes from the fact that we use small squares to count the space inside a shape.
How Do We Find Area?
The way to find area depends on the shape.
Different shapes have different formulas.
Let’s look at some simple shapes:
Area of a Square
A square has all its sides equal.
Formula:
“Area of square” = “side” × “side”
Example:
If one side of a square garden is 5 m,
“Area” = 5 × 5 = 25 m²
That means the garden covers 25 square meters.
Area of a Rectangle
A rectangle has opposite sides equal.
Formula:
“Area of rectangle” = “length” × “breadth”
Example:
A rectangular carpet is 6 m long and 4 m wide.
“Area” = 6 × 4 = 24 m²
So, the carpet covers 24 square meters.
Area of a Triangle
A triangle has three sides.
Formula:
“Area of triangle” = 1/2 × “base” × “height”
Example:
If a triangle has a base of 8 cm and a height of 5 cm,
“Area” = 1/2 × 8 × 5 = 20 cm²
So, the triangle covers 20 square centimeters.
Area of a Circle
A circle is round, so we use a different formula.
Formula:
“Area of circle” = π × r²
Where r is the radius (distance from center to the edge).
Example:
If a circle has a radius of 7 cm,
“Area” = 3.14 × 7 × 7 = 153.86 cm²
So, the circle covers about 154 square centimeters.
Example II – Let’s Solve Together
Let’s solve an example step by step.
Question:
A rectangular playground is 50 m long and 20 m wide.
What is its area?
Solution:
Formula for rectangle area = length × breadth
Length = 50 m, Breadth = 20 m
Multiply: 50 × 20 = 1000
Answer = 1000 m²
The playground has an area of 1000 square meters.
Understanding Area with Squares
Imagine you want to measure the area of your study table.
If you place 1 cm × 1 cm squares on the table, you can count how many squares fit.
The total number of squares = area.
That’s why we say area is measured in square units.
Real-Life Examples of Area
Farmer’s field – Farmers calculate the area to know how many crops can grow.
Painting a wall – We need to calculate the wall’s area to know how much paint to use.
Buying tiles – We measure the floor’s area to know how many tiles to buy.
Sports ground – The area tells us how big the ground is for games like cricket, football, or basketball.
Important Points to Remember
Area measures the space inside a shape, not outside.
Area is always measured in square units (cm², m², km²).
Each shape has a different formula.
Bigger shapes = bigger area; smaller shapes = smaller area.
Area helps in real life: farming, building, painting, designing, etc.
Summary
Area is the amount of flat space inside a shape.
It is measured in square units (cm², m², km²).
Different shapes have different formulas to find area.
Examples: Square = side × side, Rectangle = length × breadth, Triangle = ½ × base × height, Circle = π × r².
Area is very important in real life like farming, building, painting, flooring, and sports.
To master area, practice solving different examples.
