How much space is covered

A rangoli is drawn on squared paper. The paper is printed with small squares. Every square is 1 cm by 1 cm. How much flat space does the rangoli cover?

The rule

The rangoli covers 20 squares, so its area is 20 cm².

Area is the flat space a shape covers. Count the unit squares inside it. Leave no gaps. Put no square on top of another. The count is the area.

Each little square is 1 square centimetre, written 1 cm².

Area always needs a square unit. A length unit, like cm, measures along one line. A square unit measures a flat patch. A square unit uses two lengths: cm × cm = cm².

Slide to count the squares.

Try the lab to finish this lesson.