Area & Perimeter
Every common flat shape: enter the measurements in any unit and get the area, the perimeter, the formula with your numbers in it, and a drawing to scale.
Quadrilaterals
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Square
Area A = a²
Perimeter P = 4a
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Rectangle
Area A = l × w
Perimeter P = 2(l + w)
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Parallelogram
Area A = b × h
Perimeter P = 2(b + s)
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Rhombus
Area A = p × q ÷ 2
Perimeter P = 4 × √((p/2)² + (q/2)²)
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Trapezoid (trapezium)
Area A = (a + b) ÷ 2 × h
Perimeter P = a + b + c + d
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Kite
Area A = p × q ÷ 2
Perimeter P = 2(a + b)
Triangles
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Triangle — three sides
Area A = √(s(s − a)(s − b)(s − c)), s = (a + b + c) ÷ 2
Perimeter P = a + b + c
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Triangle — base and height
Area A = b × h ÷ 2
Perimeter P = b + two slanted sides
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Right triangle
Area A = a × b ÷ 2
Perimeter P = a + b + √(a² + b²)
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Isosceles triangle
Area A = b × h ÷ 2, h = √(s² − (b/2)²)
Perimeter P = b + 2s
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Equilateral triangle
Area A = (√3 ÷ 4) × a²
Perimeter P = 3a
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Triangle — two sides and the angle between
Area A = ½ × a × b × sin C
Perimeter P = a + b + c, c = √(a² + b² − 2ab cos C)
Circles and curves
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Circle
Area A = π r²
Perimeter C = 2 π r
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Semicircle
Area A = π r² ÷ 2
Perimeter P = π r + 2r
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Quarter circle
Area A = π r² ÷ 4
Perimeter P = π r ÷ 2 + 2r
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Sector (pie slice)
Area A = (θ ÷ 360) × π r²
Perimeter P = (θ ÷ 360) × 2 π r + 2r
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Circular segment (arch)
Area A = ½ r² (θ − sin θ), θ in radians
Perimeter P = r θ + 2 r sin(θ/2)
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Ring (annulus)
Area A = π (R² − r²)
Perimeter P = 2π (R + r) (both edges)
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Ellipse (oval)
Area A = π a b
Perimeter P ≈ π [3(a + b) − √((3a + b)(a + 3b))]
Polygons
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Regular polygon (pentagon, hexagon, octagon…)
Area A = n s² ÷ (4 tan(180° ÷ n))
Perimeter P = n s
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L-shape
Area A = L × W − l × w
Perimeter P = 2(L + W)
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Any polygon — by corner points
Area A = ½ |Σ (xᵢ yᵢ₊₁ − xᵢ₊₁ yᵢ)|
Perimeter P = Σ √((xᵢ₊₁ − xᵢ)² + (yᵢ₊₁ − yᵢ)²)
Area or perimeter — which do you need?
Area is the surface inside the shape, in square units: flooring, paint, sod, concrete (multiply by the depth for volume). Perimeter is the distance around the outside, in ordinary units: baseboard, edging, fencing, trim.
Measure every side in the same unit. A room measured as 12 ft by 96 in has to become 12 ft by 8 ft before the numbers mean anything — the calculators show the answer in square feet and square metres as well as your own unit, so the conversion is done for you.
Odd-shaped room? Split it into rectangles and triangles and add the areas, or use any polygon by its corner points. The formulas are explained in Learn: area and perimeter.