Question

Find the area of a trapezoidal tabletop, if its parallel sides are 2 m and 3 m long and the perpendicular distance

between them is l m.

Answer 1

The area of the trapezoidal table top is 2.5 m²

Explanation:

The area, A, of a trapezoid is given as half times the sum of the parallel side multiplied by the perpendicular distance between them

Therefore, we have;

`A = (a + b)/(2) * h`

The given parameters of the trapezoidal table top are;

The length of the parallel sides = 2 m and 3 m

The length of the perpendicular distance between the parallel sides = 1 m

Where, for the rectangular table top, we have;

'a', and 'b' = The lengths of the parallel sides = 2 m and 3 m respectively

h = The perpendicular distance between the parallel sides = 1 m

By substituting in the values, we have;

`A = (2 \ m + 3 \ m)/(2) * 1 \ m = 2.5 \ m^2`

The area of the trapezoidal table top, A = 2.5 m².