# How to find the area of a parallelogram with examples

The area of a parallelogram is the product of the length of the base and its perpendicular height. A parallelogram is a four-sided plane figure which has two opposite sides equal and parallel. The sides are not at right angles. On this page, we will discuss the area of a parallelogram in detail.

## What is an area of a parallelogram?

The area of a parallelogram is the product of the length of the base and the perpendicular height of the parallelogram. The formula for finding the area of a parallelogram is = length of base × perpendicular height

= b × h

## How to find the area of a parallelogram

To find the area of a parallelogram, multiply the length of the base and the perpendicular height of the parallelogram. The area of a parallelogram is = length of base × perpendicular height.

Note. The height must be at a right angle to the base of the parallelogram. The common mistake most students make is taking the slanted height of the parallelogram as the height of the parallelogram. Do not make this mistake. Also, make sure the unit of measurement of the length of the base and perpendicular height of the parallelogram are the same. Then proceed to multiply the length of the base and the perpendicular height and simplify to find the area of the parallelogram. Let’s understand more by working on some examples of the area of a parallelogram.

Example 1. Find the area of the parallelogram below

Solution

Area of a parallelogram = Length of base × height

Length of base = 9cm, since opposite sides of a parallelogram, are equal. Height = 7cm

READ:  3 Properties of set operations with examples

Area of a parallelogram = b × h, b = base, and h = height

= 9cm × 7cm

= 63cm2

This is pretty good, right? Let’s look at another example

Example 2: Find the area of the parallelogram below

Solution

Area of a parallelogram = base × height

base = 12cm, height = 6cm

= 12cm × 6cm

= 72cm2

Note don’t make the mistake of taking the slanted height of the parallelogram as the perpendicular height. That is a common mistake most people do.