Area (F)

Welcome to GCSE Area! As we embark on our journey through the world of mathematics, we're taking a brief detour into the realm of wildlife with an educational video on the force exerted by crocodile jaws during mealtime. While it might seem like a divergence from our usual math revision, this captivating video serves as an engaging diversion, offering a real-world application of mathematical principles.

Area is all about how much space a flat shape takes up. See how well you can apply your knowledge of Area in this GCSE Maths quiz.

A straight line has only one dimension, its length. Once we draw more lines in different directions to form an enclosed shape, we create something in 2 dimensions. In order to describe this we need more than just the length of each line, we also need to know how much space on a flat surface it takes up. This is known as its area, and we include the word ‘square’ in its units, such as cm² (square centimetres) and m² (square metres).

To be successful when solving area problems, you need to know a few formulae. The most common ones are for the rectangle (and therefore the square too), the triangle and the circle.