Area = base × height
Here's a step-by-step guide on how to find the area of a parallelogram:
1. **Identify the Base**: The base of a parallelogram is one of its sides. Choose one of the sides to serve as the base. Label the length of the base as "b".
2. **Determine the Height**: The height of a parallelogram is the perpendicular distance between the base and the opposite side. This distance may or may not be explicitly given, so you might need to calculate it.
- If the height is given, label it as "h" and proceed to the next step.
- If the height is not given, you can find it using trigonometry or by dropping a perpendicular line from one of the vertices to the base. This perpendicular line will form a right angle with the base, and the length of this line will be the height.
3. **Calculate the Area**: Once you have the base (b) and the height (h), plug these values into the formula:
Area = base × height
Substitute the values of the base and height into the formula and perform the multiplication to find the area.
4. **Units**: Don't forget to include the appropriate units when expressing the area. The units will depend on the units used for the base and height. For example, if the base is measured in meters and the height is measured in meters, the area will be in square meters (m²).
Remember, in a parallelogram, any pair of opposite sides are equal in length, and opposite angles are also equal in measure. If you're given the lengths of two adjacent sides and the angle between them, you can also use trigonometry (specifically the sine of the given angle) to find the height of the parallelogram.