Lesson 5B
“Area of Trapezoids”
Name:
1. Draw 4 Trapezoids of your own!
 Draw 2 parallel line segments that have different lengths.
 Connect the endpoints to form a trapezoid.

Label both bases and the height of each trapezoid.
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2. Make it a parallelogram!
a) Extend the bases of the trapezoid to make a big parallelogram. (Follow the demonstration!)
Area of Parallelogram = ________________
Area of Trapezoid = ________________
b) Try this one on your own
Area of Parallelogram = ________________
Area of Trapezoid = ________________
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3. More Trapezoids!

Extend the trapezoids below into parallelograms. Record their areas below.
a)
b)
c)
a) Parallelogram Area= ___________
Trapezoid Area = ____________
b) Parallelogram Area= ___________
Trapezoid Area = ____________
c) Parallelogram Area= ___________
Trapezoid Area = ____________
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4. Develop a Formula
 The trapezoid in the figure below has been extended to make a parallelogram.
a) Area of Parallelogram:
a
h
b) Area of Trapezoid:
b
5. Use it!
a)
b)
7
5
7
10
10
16
Area = ____________
c)
Area = ____________
d)
8
9
5
12
6
2
Area = ____________
Area = ____________
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6. More Practice

Determine the area of the following trapezoids.
a)
b)
18
9
12
14
30
6
Area = ____________
Area = ____________
c)
d)
5
10
9
15
11
9
8
Area = ____________
Area = ____________
7. Graph it!
a) A trapezoid has vertices at (1,2), (9,2), (4,6), and (7,6).
Use the grid on the right to draw it.
b) Find the area of the trapezoid.
Area = ________________
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8. Mix it up!!!
Find the area of the following shapes.
a)
b)
c)
16
9
10
18
6
20
10
12
Area = ____________
Area = ____________
d) Find the area of the three triangles in the figure
below.
A
30
Area = ____________
e) A wire is bent into the shape shown below. It is a
perfect rectangle, except for a 6” gap on the left
side. Find the length of the wire.
B
14
C
8
D
22
E
15"
6"
d) Area of ACD : __________
10"
e) Area of ADB : __________
f) Area of DBE : __________
Answer: _______________
f) The figure below shows a trapezoid drawn in a coordinate grid. Use the coordinates of the vertices to find
the area of the trapezoid.
y
(9,8)
(6,4)
Area = _______________
(16,8)
(20,4)
x
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