What is the formula for the area of a rectangle or square?

What is the formula for the area of a rectangle or square?

• A. Width x Height
• B. Length x Width
• C. Length x Height
• D. Area = Length x Width

Answer: (B)

The main idea is that the area of a rectangle (or a square) is found by multiplying its two side lengths. Think of covering the shape with little square units: along the length you have a certain number of units, and along the width you have a certain number of units per row. The total number of unit squares—i.e., the area—is the product of those two dimensions. For a square, both dimensions are the same, so the area becomes side × side, which fits the same formula. Length × width is the conventional way to express this, and the order doesn’t change the result because multiplication is commutative. Area = length × width is just another valid way to write the same idea, but the essential concept is multiplying the two dimensions that define the rectangle.

The main idea is that the area of a rectangle (or a square) is found by multiplying its two side lengths. Think of covering the shape with little square units: along the length you have a certain number of units, and along the width you have a certain number of units per row. The total number of unit squares—i.e., the area—is the product of those two dimensions. For a square, both dimensions are the same, so the area becomes side × side, which fits the same formula.

Length × width is the conventional way to express this, and the order doesn’t change the result because multiplication is commutative. Area = length × width is just another valid way to write the same idea, but the essential concept is multiplying the two dimensions that define the rectangle.