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Area of Composite Figures

T.i.P.S.

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Students should use their prior knowledge of area and two-dimensional shapes from previous grade levels to decompose a composite figure into shapes for which there is a known area formula. A composite figure can be decomposed several ways using individual shapes. When the composite figures is decomposed, students should determine which area formula should be used to calculate the area of each shape, and then the total area of the figure.

Example

For the March Madness basketball tournament, the officials want to paint each key of the court a different color. If there are two keys on the basketball court in the shape below, how much paint is needed to completely paint both of them?  

basketball key measuring 15 in in length and 10 in in width

Hint

Possible Solution 

Digital Tools

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Area of Compound Figures 

Resources

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Determining Area of Composite Figures 

TEKS

Readiness Standard

7.9 Expressions, equations, and relationships. The student applies mathematical process standards to solve geometric problems. The student is expected to:

(C) determine the area of composite figures containing combinations of rectangles, squares, parallelograms, trapezoids, triangles, semicircles, and quarter circles

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