Math Expression: Area of a Trapezoid Practice Question

Given a trapezoid where its two parallel sides are 3cm and 5cm. Also, its height is 4cm. Find the area of this trapezoid.

Step 1

The picture below shows the trapezoid:
Step 2

To calculate the area, we can start with the formula for the area of a trapezoid:
Step 3

Since the parallel sides are given as 3cm and 5cm, we can substitute a with 3 and substitute b with 4. Similarly, since the height is given as 4cm, we can substitute h with 4. After doing so, we can calculate for A, as shown below:
Step 4

Now, the calculated number 16 has no meaning unless we include the unit for it. Since the base is in cm, the unit for the area will be cm². Hence:

A = 16 cm²
Step 5

Clearly, the answer is A.