Area of a parallelogram is the amount of two-dimensional surface it covers, found by multiplying the length of a chosen base by its corresponding perpendicular height: . A diagram can be interpreted by decomposing and rearranging the parallelogram into a rectangle, clarifying that the slanted side is not generally the height; base and height may be whole-number or commonly used fractional or decimal measures, with area expressed in square units.
To find the area of a parallelogram, multiply the length of the base by the perpendicular height:
The height must make a right angle with the base. It is not usually the slanted side.
Example: A parallelogram has a base of and a perpendicular height of . Find its area.
Identify the base and height:
Substitute into the formula:
Multiply:
Use square units because area measures a surface:
You can also imagine cutting off the slanted triangle on one side and moving it to the other side. This makes a rectangle with the same base and height, so the area is still .
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