This video is all about finding the area of a trapezium, and using the equation to calculate the value of x.
The question is aimed at around grade 7+ GCSE maths, and is generally non calculator:
“ABCD is a trapezium with AD = x+8, BC = x+5 and AB = x.
The area of the trapezium is 42cm².
Show that x is a square number”
The easiest way is to use the formula area = ½(a + b)h and solve for x, when the area is equal to 42cm²
As an alternative, you could treat the trapezium as a ‘compound shape,’ and divide into a rectangle with two triangles. This will also give the area, and you could also solve for x. It’s a little more tedious … and the formula is definitely easier.
Finding the area of a trapezium questions appear in all the main examination boards, including Edexcel, AQA and OCR. They are popular and, once you have the basic principles, fairly similar. Please do stop the video, try the question and compare your solution!
Please also leave a comment below if you are not sure. Alternately you can view my YouTube channel and leave a comment there – I’ll always try to respond as quickly as possible.