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Year 7

Area of composite rectilinear shapes

You can find the area of composite rectilinear shapes in different ways.

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New
New
Year 7

Area of composite rectilinear shapes

You can find the area of composite rectilinear shapes in different ways.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. There are multiple ways to find the area of rectilinear composite shapes.
  2. The most efficient method may depend on the features of the shape.
  3. A method is to break the shape into rectangles.
  4. A method is to complete the shape.
  5. A method is to rearrange the shape.

Common misconception

Breaking the shape into rectangles is always the best approach.

There is not always enough information to use that method so flexible thinking is required.

Keywords

  • Composite rectilinear shape - A composite rectilinear shape is a composite shape made from rectangles.

If pupils are reticient to learn other ways of calculating the area of composite rectilinear shapes, future lessons in this unit present examples where other methods must be used. This provides evidence that one method is not always best.
Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is the length of the line marked $$b$$?
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: 80 mm, 80
Q2.
A composite shape is made from rectangles.
Correct Answer: rectilinear
Q3.
What is the length of the side marked $$a$$ in the diagram?
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: 2 cm, 2
Q4.
What is the length of the side marked $$b$$ in the diagram?
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: 4 cm, 4
Q5.
Calculate the area of the rectangle (you do not need to state the units).
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: 19.98, 19.98 cm$$^2$$
Q6.
Calculate the area of the rectangle with a base of 11 m and a height of 7 m (you do not need to write the units).
Correct Answer: 77, 77 cm$$^2$$

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Calculate the area of this compound rectilinear shape (you do not need to state the units).
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: 60, 60 cm$$^2$$
Q2.
Calculate the area of this compound rectilinear shape (you do not need to state the units).
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: 44, 44 cm$$^2$$
Q3.
Calculate the area of this compound rectilinear shape (you do not need to state the units).
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: 87, 87 m$$^2$$
Q4.
Calculate the area of this compound rectilinear shape (you do not need to state the units).
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: 180, 180 m$$^2$$
Q5.
Determine whether you can calculate the area of this shape given the information provided in the diagram.
An image in a quiz
There is enough information.
Correct answer: There is not enough information.
Q6.
Calculate the area of this compound rectilinear shape (you do not need to state the units).
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: 132, 132 m$$^2$$