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

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

• A. Length x Width
• B. Width x Height
• C. Base x Height
• D. Pi r^2

Answer: (A)

Area is found by multiplying the two dimensions that cover the shape. For a rectangle, that means length times width. A square is just a rectangle with equal sides, so its area is side × side, which matches length × width when the two dimensions are the same. That’s why this is the simplest and most direct formula for both shapes. The base × height phrasing is a common way to describe area for parallelograms and rectangles in some contexts, but the standard expression for these shapes is length × width. Pi r^2 is the circle area formula, so it’s not applicable here.

Area is found by multiplying the two dimensions that cover the shape. For a rectangle, that means length times width. A square is just a rectangle with equal sides, so its area is side × side, which matches length × width when the two dimensions are the same. That’s why this is the simplest and most direct formula for both shapes. The base × height phrasing is a common way to describe area for parallelograms and rectangles in some contexts, but the standard expression for these shapes is length × width. Pi r^2 is the circle area formula, so it’s not applicable here.