9.

4  Perimeter, Area, and Circumference 477

9.4 Perimeter, Area, and Circumference

Objectives Perimeter of a Polygon
1 Determine the
perimeter of a polygon. When working with a polygon, we are sometimes required to find its “distance
around,” or perimeter.
2 Determine the areas of
polygons and circles.
3 Determine the
Perimeter
circumference of a
circle. The perimeter of any polygon is the sum of the measures of the line segments
that form its sides. Perimeter is measured in linear units.

The simplest polygon is a triangle. If a triangle has sides of lengths a, b, and c,

then to find its perimeter we simply find the sum of a, b, and c, as shown below.
B C E

5x 2 Perimeter of a Triangle
2x
The perimeter P of a triangle with sides of lengths P=a+b+c
a, b, and c is given by the following formula. a b
A x M x D F






5x 2 P=a+b+c
c
To construct a golden rectangle, one in
which the ratio of the length to the width
is equal to the ratio of the length plus the
width to the length, begin with a square Because a rectangle is made up of two pairs of sides with the two sides in each pair
ABCD. With the point of the compass at
•• equal in length, the formula for the perimeter of a rectangle may be stated as follows.
M, the midpoint of AD, swing an arc of
radius MC to intersect the extension of
••
AD at F. Construct a perpendicular at F,
•• Perimeter of a Rectangle
and have it intersect the extension of BC
at E. ABEF is a golden rectangle with ratio The perimeter P of a rectangle with length / and
11 + 252 >2. (See Section 5.5 for more width w is given by the following formula. w
on the golden ratio.) P = 2O + 2w,  or, equivalently,  P = 21 O + w 2
To verify this construction, let
ℓ
AM = x, so that AD = CD = 2x. Then,
by the Pythagorean theorem, P = 2ℓ + 2w, or P = 2(ℓ + w)

MC = 2x 2 + 12x2 2 = 2x 2 + 4x 2

= 25x 2 = x 25.
Because CF is an arc of the circle with Example 1 Using Perimeter to Determine Amount of Fencing
radius MC, MF = MC = x 25. Then the
ratio of length AF  to width EF   is A plot of land is in the shape of a rectangle. If it has length 50 feet and width 26 feet,
how much fencing would be needed to completely enclose the plot?
AF x + x 25
=
EF 2x Solution
x 11 + 252 We must find the distance around the plot of land.
=
2x
P = 2/ + 2w   Perimeter formula
1 + 25
= . P = 21502 + 21262  / = 50, w = 26
2

Similarly, it can be shown that

P = 100 + 52   Multiply.
AF + EF 1 + 25 P = 152   Add.
= .
AF 2
The perimeter is 152 feet, so 152 feet of fencing is required.
478 C H A P T E R 9  Geometry

A square is a rectangle with four sides of equal length. The formula for the
perimeter of a square is a special case of the formula for the perimeter of a rectangle.

Perimeter of a Square
The perimeter P of a square with all sides of length s is
given by the following formula.
s
P = 4s

s
P = 4s

Example 2 Using the Formula for Perimeter of a Square

A square chess board has perimeter 34 inches. See Figure 40. What is the length
of each side?

s Solution
P = 4s   Perimeter formula
34 = 4s   P = 34
s = 8.5  Divide by 4.
s
Each side has a measure of 8.5 inches. 

Figure 40 

Example 3 Finding Length and Width of a Rectangle

The length of a basketball court is 6 feet less than twice the width. The perimeter is
288 feet. Find the length and width.

Solution
2w – 6 Step 1 Read the problem.  We must find the length and width.
Assign a variable. Let w represent the width. Then 2w - 6 can represent
Step 2 
the length, because the length is 6 less than twice the width. Figure 41
w shows a diagram of the basketball court.
Write an equation. In the formula P = 2/ + 2w, replace / with 2w - 6,
Step 3 
and replace P with 288, because the perimeter is 288 feet.
Figure 41 
288 = 2(2w − 6) + 2w
Step 4 Solve the equation.
288 = 2(2w - 6) + 2w
288 = 4w - 12 + 2w   Distributive property
288 = 6w - 12   Combine like terms.
300 = 6w   Add 12.
50 = w   Divide by 6.
State the answer. Because w = 50, the width is 50 feet and the length is
Step 5 
2w - 6 = 2(50) - 6 = 94 feet.
Check.  Because 94 is 6 less than twice 50, and because the perimeter is
Step 6 
2(94) + 2(50) = 288, the answer is correct.
 9.4  Perimeter, Area, and Circumference 479

Problem-Solving Strategy
The six-step method of solving an applied problem from Section 7.2 can be
used to solve problems involving geometric figures, as shown in Example 3.

Area of a Polygon

AREA
The amount of plane surface covered by a polygon is its area. Area is mea-
sured in square units.

Defining the area of a figure requires a basic unit of area. One that is commonly
used is the square centimeter, abbreviated cm2. One square centimeter, or 1 cm2,
is the area of a square one centimeter on a side. In place of 1 cm2, the basic unit of
Metric units will be used extensively in area could be 1 in.2, 1 ft2, 1 m2, or any appropriate unit.
this chapter. Help with the metric system, As an example, we calculate the area of the rectangle shown in Figure 42(a).
including unit conversion, is available in Using the basic 1-cm 2 unit, Figure 42(b) shows that four squares, each 1 cm on a
MyMathLab or at [Link]
side, can be laid off horizontally while six such squares can be laid off vertically.
A total of 4 # 6 = 24 of the small squares are needed to cover the large rectangle.
.com/mathstatsresources.

Thus, the area of the large rectangle is 24 cm2.

6 cm

4 cm
24 cm2

(a) (b)

Figure 42 

We generalize to obtain a formula for the area of a rectangle.

Area of a Rectangle
The area 𝒜 of a rectangle with length / and width w
is given by the following formula. w
𝒜 = Ow
ℓ
𝒜 = ℓw

The formula for the area of a rectangle 𝒜 = /w can be used to find formulas
for the areas of other figures.

Area of a Square
The area 𝒜 of a square with all sides of length s is 𝒜 = s2
given by the following formula.
s
𝒜 = s2

s
480 C H A P T E R 9  Geometry

10
 Example 4 Using Area to Determine Amount of Carpet

12  Figure 43 shows the floor plan of a building, made up of various rectangles. If each
length given is in meters, how many square meters of carpet would be required to

7 10 
3  carpet the building?

15  Solution
 40
 The dashed lines in the figure break up the floor area into rectangles. The areas of
 the various rectangles that result are as follows.
10 m # 12 m = 120 m2,   3 m # 10 m = 30 m2,


3 m # 7 m = 21 m2,   15 m # 25 m = 375 m2


15 40 - 12 - 3 = 25

Figure 43  1120 + 30 + 21 + 3752 m2 = 546 m2

The amount of carpet needed is 546 m2.

b A parallelogram is a four-sided figure with both pairs of opposite sides paral-

lel. Because a parallelogram need not be a rectangle, the formula for the area of a
h rectangle cannot be used directly for a parallelogram. However, this formula can be
used indirectly, as shown in Figure 44. Cut off the triangle in color, and slide it to
the right end. The resulting figure is a rectangle with the same area as the original
parallelogram.
h The height of the parallelogram is the perpendicular distance between the top
and bottom and is denoted by h in the figure. The width of the rectangle equals
b the height of the parallelogram, and the length of the rectangle is the base b of the
parallelogram, so
Figure 44 
𝒜 = length # width becomes  𝒜 = base # height.

Area of a Parallelogram
The area 𝒜 of a parallelogram with height h and base b
is given by the following formula.
h
𝒜 = bh
(Note: h represents the length of the perpendicular
b
between the parallel sides. If the parallelogram is not a
𝒜 = bh
rectangle, then h is not the length of a side.)

Example 5 Using the Formula for Area of a Parallelogram

6 cm
Find the area of the parallelogram in Figure 45.
15 cm
Solution
Figure 45 
𝒜 = bh   Area formula
= 15 cm # 6 cm  b = 15 cm, h = 6 cm
= 90 cm2   Multiply.
The area of the parallelogram is 90 cm2.
 9.4  Perimeter, Area, and Circumference 481

b B Figure 46 shows how we can find a formula for the area of a trapezoid. Notice
that the figure as a whole is a parallelogram. It is made up of two trapezoids, each
h h having height h, shorter base b, and longer base B. The area of the parallelogram
is found by multiplying the height h by the base of the parallelogram, b + B—that
B b is, h1b + B2. Because the area of the parallelogram is twice the area of each trap-
Figure 46  ezoid, the area of each trapezoid is half the area of the parallelogram.

Area of a Trapezoid
The area 𝒜 of a trapezoid with parallel bases b and b
B and height h is given by the following formula. 𝒜 = _1 h(b + B)
2
h
1
𝒜= h1b + B2
2
B

Example 6 Using the Formula for Area of a Trapezoid

3 cm
Find the area of the trapezoid in Figure 47.

Solution 6 cm

1
𝒜= h1B + b2   Area formula
2 9 cm
B
1 Figure 47 
= 16 cm219 cm + 3 cm2  h = 6 cm, B = 9 cm, b = 3 cm
2
h
1
= 16 cm2112 cm2   Add.
2
A b C
= 36 cm2   Multiply.
The area of the trapezoid is 36 cm2.

The formula for the area of a triangle can be found from the formula for the
Figure 48  area of a parallelogram. In Figure 48, the triangle with vertices A, B, and C has
• •
been combined with another copy of itself, rotated 180° about the midpoint of BC,
to form a parallelogram. The area of this parallelogram is
𝒜 = base # height, or 𝒜 = bh.
However, the parallelogram has twice the area of the triangle, so the area of the
triangle is half the area of the parallelogram.

h Area
h of a Triangle
The area 𝒜 of a triangle with height h and base b is
given by the following formula. 𝒜 = _1 bh
b 2
b
h
1
𝒜= bh
2
h b

b When applying the formula for the area of a triangle, remember that the height
1
In each case, 𝒜 = 2 bh. is the perpendicular distance between a vertex and the opposite side (or the exten-
Figure 49  sion of that side). See Figure 49.
482 C H A P T E R 9  Geometry

Example 7 Finding the Height of a Triangular Sail

The area of a triangular sail of a sailboat is 126 ft2. The
base of the sail is 12 ft. Find the height of the sail.

Solution
Read the problem.  We must find the height of
Step 1 
h
the triangular sail.
To use the formula for the area of a Assign a variable. Let h = the height of the
Step 2 
1
triangle, 𝒜 = 2 bh, we must know the 12 ft
sail in feet. See Figure 50.
height from one of the sides of the
triangle to the opposite vertex. Suppose Write an equation. Using the information
Step 3 
that we know only the lengths of the given in the problem, we substitute 126 ft2 for
three sides. Is there a way to determine 𝒜 and 12 ft for b in the formula for the area of
the area from only this given information? a triangle.
The answer is yes, and it leads us to Figure 50 
the formula known as Heron’s formula. 1
Heron of Alexandria lived during the
𝒜 = bh   Area formula
2
second half of the first century a.d., and
although the formula is named after him, 1
126 ft2 = 112 ft2h  𝒜 = 126 ft2, b = 12 ft
there is evidence that it was known to 2
Archimedes several centuries earlier.
Let a, b, and c be lengths of the sides Step 4 Solve. 126 ft2 = 6h ft     
Multiply.

of any triangle. Let 21 ft = h      Divide by 6 ft.

1
s= 2
1a + b + c2 Step 5 State the answer.  The height of the sail is 21 ft.
represent the semiperimeter. Then the
area 𝒜 of the triangle is given by the Check to see that the values 𝒜 = 126 ft2, b = 12 ft, and h = 21 ft satisfy the
Step 6 
formula formula for the area of a triangle.
𝒜 = !s 1s − a 2 1s − b 2 1s − c 2.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial
in Washington, D.C., is in the shape of
an unenclosed isosceles triangle. The
Circumference of a Circle
walls form a “V-shape,” and each wall The distance around a circle is its circumference (rather than its perimeter). To
measures 246.75 feet. The distance understand the formula for the circumference of a circle, use a piece of string to
between the ends of the walls is measure the distance around a circular object. Then find the object’s diameter and
438.14 feet. Use Heron’s formula to show divide the circumference by the diameter. The quotient is the same, no matter what
that the area enclosed by the triangular the size of the circular object is, and it will be an approximation for the number p.
shape is approximately 24,900 ft 2.
circumference C
p= = , or, alternatively, C = pd
diameter d

Recall that p is not a rational number. Figure 51 shows that it takes slightly more
than three (about 3.14) diameters to make the circumference. In this chapter we
will use 3.14 as an approximation for p when one is required.

Circumference of a Circle
The circumference C of a circle of diameter d is
d given by the following formula.
d r
d C = Pd
d
Also, since d = 2r, the circumference C of a circle C = Pd
of radius r is given by the following formula. C = 2Pr
d C = 2Pr
Figure 51 
 9.4  Perimeter, Area, and Circumference 483

Iran
Egypt Saudi Arabia
Pakistan
India
Example 8 Finding the Circumference of a Circle
Sudan Thailand

Ethiopia
Find the circumference of each circle described. Use p ≈ 3.14.
Malaysia
Kenya
Indonesia (a) A circle with diameter 12.6 centimeters
Tanzania

(b) A circle with radius 1.70 meters

Madagascar INDIAN
OCEAN
Solution
On March 8, 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight
370 (a Boeing 777) disappeared while en (a) C = pd   Circumference formula
route from Malaysia to China. Officials
≈ 13.142112.6 cm2   p ≈ 3.14, d = 12.6 cm
estimated that the plane had about a half-
hour of fuel left when satellites received = 39.6 cm   Multiply.
last contact over the Indian Ocean.
If a Boeing 777 can fly 950 km/hr The circumference is about 39.6 centimeters, rounded to the nearest tenth.
at top speed, and if the plane’s flight
(b) C = 2pr   Circumference formula
direction was unknown after its last
known location, approximately how large ≈ 213.14211.70 m2  p ≈ 3.14, r = 1.70 m
an area should be searched? The answer
can be found on the next page. = 10.7 m   Multiply.
The circumference is approximately 10.7 meters.

Area of a Circle
Start with a circle as shown in Figure 52(a), divided into many equal pie-shaped
pieces (sectors). Rearrange the pieces into an approximate rectangle as shown in
Figure 52(b). The circle has circumference 2 pr, so the “length” of the approximate
1
rectangle is one-half of the circumference, or 2 12 pr2 = pr, while its “width” is r.
The area of the approximate rectangle is length times width, or 1pr2r = pr 2. As
we choose smaller and smaller sectors, the figure becomes closer and closer to a
rectangle, so its area becomes closer and closer to pr 2.

2pr

pr

r r

𝒜 ≈ pr 2

(a) (b)

Figure 52 

Area of a Circle
The area 𝒜 of a circle with radius r is given by the fol-
𝒜 = Pr 2
lowing formula.
r
𝒜 = Pr 2

Problem-Solving Strategy
The formula for the area of a circle can be used to determine the best value for
your money the next time you purchase a pizza. The next example uses the idea
of unit pricing.
484 C H A P T E R 9  Geometry

Example 9 Using Area to Determine Better Value for Pizza

Paw-Paw Johnny’s delivers pizza. The price of an 8-inch-diameter pizza is $6.99,
and the price of a 16-inch-diameter pizza is $13.98. Which is the better buy?

Solution
To determine which pizza is the better value for the money, we must first find the
area of each, and divide the price by the area to determine the price per square inch.
8-inch-diameter pizza area = p14 in.2 2 ≈ 50.2 in.2  Radius is 12 18 in.2 = 4 in.
1
16-inch-diameter pizza area = p18 in.2 2 ≈ 201 in.2   Radius is 2
116 in.2 = 8 in.
Solution to Margin Note problem
If the plane travels at full speed of The price per square inch for the 8-inch pizza is
950 km/hr for half an hour in an unknown
$6.99
direction, then the search area would be a ≈ 13.9 ¢,
circle centered at the last known location 50.2
with a radius of and the price per square inch for the 16-inch pizza is
950
r= = 475 km. $13.98
2
≈ 7.0 ¢.
The area of this circle would be 201
𝒜 = p (475 km)2
≈ 710,000 km2.
Therefore, the 16-inch pizza is the better buy, since it costs approximately half as
much per square inch.

9.4 Exercises
In Exercises 1–5, fill in each blank with the correct response. Use the formulas of this section to find the area of each
figure. In Exercises 17–20, use 3.14 as an approximation
1. The perimeter of an equilateral triangle with side for p, and in Exercises 18–20 round to the nearest unit.
length equal to inches is the same as the perim-
eter of a rectangle with length 20 inches and width 7. 8.
16 inches. 6 cm 4 cm

2. A square with area 49 cm2 has perimeter cm. 8 cm 4 cm

3. If the area of a certain triangle is 40 square inches, and

the base measures 8 inches, then the height must mea-
sure inches. 9. 10.
3 cm
4. If the radius of a circle is tripled, then its area is multi- 3 cm
3 1_3 cm
plied by a factor of .

5. Circumference is to a circle as is to a polygon. 1 cm

6. Perimeter or Area?   Decide whether perimeter or area

would be used to solve a problem concerning the mea-
1 1. 1 2.
sure of the quantity.
2 in. 1.5 cm
(a) Sod for a lawn 
(b) Carpeting for a bedroom  4 in. 3 cm
(c) Baseboards for a living room  (a parallelogram) (a parallelogram)
(d) Fencing for a yard 
(e) Fertilizer for a garden 
(f) Tile for a bathroom  1 3. 14.
3m
(g) Determining the cost of planting rye grass in a
38 mm

lawn for the winter 

5m
(h) Determining the cost of replacing a linoleum floor
with a wood floor  22 mm
 9.4  Perimeter, Area, and Circumference 485

1 5. b = 3 cm 16. b = 4 cm 2 6. Radius of a Circle   If the radius of a certain circle is

tripled, with 8.2 cm then added, the result is the cir-
h = 2 cm cumference of the circle. Find the radius of the circle.
h = 3 cm (Use 3.14 as an approximation for p.) 
B = 5 cm
27. Area of Two Lots   The survey plat in the figure below
(a trapezoid) B = 5 cm
shows two lots that form a trapezoid. The measures of
(a trapezoid) the parallel sides are 115.80 ft and 171.00 ft. The height
of the trapezoid is 165.97 ft. Find the combined area of
the two lots. Round your answer to the nearest hun-
17. 18. dredth of a square foot. 
1 cm
15 cm
O S 82
O ° 42'

82.05'
E
175.

171.00'
43'

W/F BLDG. ON PIERS LOT A

115.80'
88.96' 26.84'
0.280 AC.
1 9. 2 0.
12 m S 78° 58' W 165.97'
36 m O

N 11° 17' W

S 10° 36' E
O LOT B
W/F BLDG. 0.378 AC.
ON PIERS TIN

88.95'
BLDG.

60'
S 78° 58' W 165.97'
Solve each problem.

21. Window Side Length   A stained-glass window in a 2 8. Area of a Lot   Lot A in the figure is in the shape of
church is in the shape of a rhombus. The perimeter of a trapezoid. The parallel sides measure 26.84 ft and
the rhombus is 7 times the length of a side in meters, 82.05 ft. The height of the trapezoid is 165.97 ft. Find
decreased by 12. Find the length of a side of the window. the area of Lot A. Round your answer to the nearest
hundredth of a square foot. 
22. Dimensions of a Rectangle   A video rental machine
has a rectangular display beside it advertising several 2 9. Search Area   A search plane carries radar equipment
movies inside. The display’s length is 18 in. more than that can detect metal objects (like submarine peri-
the width, and the perimeter is 180 in. What are the scopes or plane wreckage) on the ocean surface up to
dimensions of the display?  15.5 miles away. If the plane completes a circular flight
pattern of 471 miles in circumference, how much area
2 3. Dimensions of a Lot   A lot is in the shape of a triangle. will it search? (Use 3.14 as an approximation for p, and
One side is 100 ft longer than the shortest side, while round to the nearest 100 mi2.)
the third side is 200 ft longer than the shortest side. Iran
The perimeter of the lot is 1200 ft. Find the lengths of Saudi
Pakistan
Arabia India
the sides of the lot. 

2 4. Pennant Side Lengths   A wall pennant is in the shape

of an isosceles triangle. Each of the two equal sides
measures 18 in. more than the third side, and the
Madagascar
perimeter of the triangle is 54 in. What are the lengths INDIAN
OCEAN
of the sides of the pennant? 
3 0. Flight Path   If the search plane from Exercise 29 needs
to search a circular swath with an area of 20,000 square
miles, how far will the plane need to fly (in a circle)?
(Round to the nearest mile.)

20,000 mi2

25. Radius of a Circular Foundation   A hotel is in the shape

of a cylinder, with a circular foundation. The circumfer-
ence of the foundation is 6 times the radius, increased
by 14 ft. Find the radius of the circular foundation. (Use
3.14 as an approximation for p.) 
486 C H A P T E R 9  Geometry

In the chart below, the value of r (radius), d (diameter), C Each circle has the circumference or area indicated. Find
(circumference), or 𝒜 (area) is given for a particular circle. the value of x. Use 3.14 as an approximation for p.
Find the remaining three values. Leave p in your answers.
4 9. C = 37.68  5 0. C = 54.95 
r d C 𝒜

31. 6 in. x+1 3x – 5

32. 9 in.

33. 10 ft 51. 𝒜 = 28.26  52. 𝒜 = 18.0864 

34. 40 ft

35. 12p cm x
4x
36. 18p cm

37. 100p in.2

53. Work the parts of this exercise in order, and make a
38. 256p in.2 generalization concerning areas of rectangles.
400 (a) Find the area of a rectangle 4 cm by 5 cm. 
39. p
yd2
(b) Find the area of a rectangle 8 cm by 10 cm. 
40. 60 m
(c) Find the area of a rectangle 12 cm by 15 cm. 
Each figure has the perimeter indicated. (Figures are not (d) Find the area of a rectangle 16 cm by 20 cm. 
necessarily to scale.) Find the value of x. (e) The rectangle in part (b) had sides twice as long
as the sides of the rectangle in part (a). Divide
41. P = 58  42. P = 42  the larger area by the smaller. Doubling the sides
x made the area increase times.
x x+2
(f) To get the rectangle in part (c), each side of the
x x rectangle in part (a) was multiplied by . This
x+7 made the larger area times the size of the
x smaller area.
(g) To get the rectangle of part (d), each side of the
4 3. P = 38  4 4. P = 278  rectangle of part (a) was multiplied by . This
2x – 3 5x + 1
made the area increase to times what it was
originally.
x x
x+1 x+1 5x + 1
(h) In general, if the length of each side of a rectangle
is multiplied by n, the area is multiplied by .
2x – 3
54. Use the logic of Exercise 53 to answer the following: If
the height of a triangle is multiplied by n and the base
Each figure has the area indicated. Find the value of x. length remains the same, then the area of the triangle
is multiplied by .
4 5. 𝒜 = 32.49  4 6. 𝒜 = 28 
x x+3 55. Use the logic of Exercise 53 to answer the following: If

the radius of a circle is multiplied by n, then the area of
x the circle is multiplied by .
x x
Job Cost   Use the results of Exercise 53 to solve each problem.

x 5 6. A ceiling measuring 9 ft by 15 ft can be painted for

$60. How much would it cost to paint a ceiling 18 ft by
47. 𝒜 = 21  4 8. 𝒜 = 30  30 ft? 
x
57. Suppose carpet for a room 10 ft by 12 ft costs $200.
3 Find the cost to carpet a room 20 ft by 24 ft. 
x+1 x+4
5 8. A carpet cleaner uses 8 oz of shampoo to clean an area
(a trapezoid) 31 ft by 31 ft. How much shampoo would be needed
x for an area 93 ft by 93 ft? 
 9.4  Perimeter, Area, and Circumference 487

Total Area as the Sum of Areas   By considering total area as Pizza Pricing  The following exercises show prices actually
the sum of the areas of all of its parts, we can determine the charged by Old Town Pizza, a local pizzeria. The dimen-
area of a figure such as those in Exercises 59– 62. Find the sion is the diameter of the pizza. Find the best buy.
total area of each figure. Use 3.14 as an approximation for p Menu Prices
in Exercises 61 and 62, and round to the nearest hundredth. Item  10-in. 12-in. 14-in. 16-in.
59. 10   60.   69. Cheese pizza
with one $10 $14 $17 $20
6 9 topping
70. Cheese pizza
4 10
4 with two $11.50 $15.75 $19 $22.25
3 toppings
(a parallelogram
and a triangle) 71. Choo Choo
(a triangle, a rectangle, $15 $19 $22 $25
and a parallelogram) Chicken
72. Steam Engine
6 1. 8   62. + two $18 $22.50 $26 $29.50
3 toppings
8
3
8 8
8 James Garfield’s Proof of the Pythagorean Theorem   James
(a rectangle and
two semicircles) A. Garfield, the twentieth president of the United States,
provided a proof of the Pythagorean theorem using the
(a square and figure below. Supply the required information in each of
four semicircles) Exercises 73–76, in order, to follow his proof.

Area of a Shaded Portion of a Plane Figure   The shaded areas

of the figures in Exercises 63– 68 may be found by subtract-
ing the area of the unshaded portion from the total area of
the figure. Use this approach to find the area of the shaded
portion. Use 3.14 as an approximation for p in Exercises
66– 68, and round to the nearest hundredth.

63. 6 4.
8 cm
18 ft 7 ft 11 ft
8 cm
12 ft 6 cm
73. Find the area of the trapezoid WXYZ using the for-
8 cm 6 cm mula for the area of a trapezoid. 
(a triangle within
a trapezoid) (a trapezoid within a X
W
a triangle)

b
c
6 5. 48 cm 48 cm 6 6. 21 ft
P
74 cm
23 ft a
36 cm c

Z Y
(two congruent triangles (a semicircle within b
within a rectangle) a rectangle)
74. Find the area of each of the right triangles PWX, PZY,
and PXY. 
67. 6 8. 4 cm
75. Because the sum of the areas of the three right triangles
26 m must equal the area of the trapezoid, set the expression
from Exercise 73 equal to the sum of the three expres-
sions from Exercise 74. 
(a circle within
a square) (two circles within 76. Simplify the terms of the equation from Exercise 75 as
a circle) much as possible. What is the result? 
488 C H A P T E R 9  Geometry

A polygon can be inscribed within W X 8 2. Area of Trapezoid   The three squares have the dimen-
a circle or circumscribed about a sions indicated in the diagram. What is the area of the
circle. In the figure, triangle ABC A shaded trapezoid? 
is inscribed within the circle, while 10
square WXYZ is circumscribed C
6
about it. These ideas will be used in 4
some of the remaining exercises in Z Y
B
this section and later in this chapter.
8 3. Area of a Shaded Region   Express the area of the
shaded region in terms of r, given that the circle is
Exercises 77– 88 require some ingenuity, but all may be inscribed in the square. 
solved using the concepts presented so far in this chapter.
7 7. Diameter of a Circle   Given the circle with center O and r
rectangle ABCO, find the diameter of the circle. 
O

A
D O
8 4. Area of a Pentagon   In the figure, pentagon PQRST is
B C formed by a square and an equilateral triangle such that
PQ = QR = RS = ST = PT. The perimeter of the pen-
AC = 13 in. tagon is 80. Find the area of the pentagon. 
AD = 3 in.
P Q
78. Perimeter of a Triangle   What is the perimeter of ∆AEB
if AD = 20 in., DC = 30 in., and AC = 34 in.?  R
A
T S
F B
E 8 5. Area of a Quadrilateral   Find the area of quadrilateral
D C ABCD if angles A and C are right angles. 
A
7 9. Area of a Square   The area of square PQRS is 1250 8
square feet. T, U, V, and W are the midpoints of PQ, B
QR, RS, and SP, respectively. What is the area of 6 2
square TUVW?  C
T
P Q D

W U 86. Base Measure of an Isosceles Triangle  An isosceles tri-

angle has a base of 24 and two sides of 13. What other base
S R measure can an isosceles triangle with equal sides of 13
V have and still have the same area as the given triangle? 
8 0. Area of a Quadrilateral   The rectangle ABCD has 13 13
length twice the width. If P, Q, R, and S are the mid-
points of the sides, and the perimeter of ABCD is 96 24
in., what is the area of quadrilateral PQRS? 
P Exercises 87 and 88 refer to the given figure. The center of
A B
the circle is O.
S Q C
D C
R
A B
O
81. Area of Shaded Region   If the area of ∆ACE is 10 cm2,
the area of ∆BDE is 16 cm2, and the area of ∆ADE is
20 cm2, determine the area of the shaded region.  • • • •
87. Radius of a Circle   If AC measures 6 in. and BC mea-
E sures 8 in., what is the radius of the circle? 
• •
8 8. Lengths of Chords of a Circle   If AB measures 13 cm,
• •
and the length of BC is 7 cm more than the length of
• • • • • •
A B C D AC, what are the lengths of BC and AC ?
 9.5  Volume and Surface Area 489

9. 5 Volume and Surface Area

Objectives Space Figures
1 Classify space figures.
Thus far, this chapter has discussed only plane figures—figures that can be drawn
2 Calculate surface area completely in the plane of a sheet of paper. However, it takes the three dimensions
and volume of common
of space to represent the solid world around us. For example, Figure 53 shows a
space figures.
“box” (a rectangular parallelepiped). The faces of a box are rectangles. The faces
meet at edges; the “corners” are vertices (plural of vertex—the same word that is
used for the “corner” of an angle).

Vertex
Face

Edge
Rectangular parallelepiped (box)

Figure 53 

Boxes are one kind of space figure belonging to an important group called
polyhedra, the faces of which are made only of polygons. Perhaps the most interest-
ing polyhedra are the regular polyhedra. Recall that a regular polygon is a polygon
with all sides equal and all angles equal. A regular polyhedron is a space figure, the
faces of which are only one kind of regular polygon. It turns out that there are only
five different regular polyhedra. They are shown in Figure 54. A tetrahedron is
composed of four equilateral triangles, each three of which meet in a point. Use the
figure to verify that there are four faces, four vertices, and six edges.

Polyhedral dice such as the ones shown

here are often used in today’s role-playing Tetrahedron Hexahedron (cube) Octahedron Dodecahedron Icosahedron
games.
Figure 54 
The five regular polyhedra are also
known as Platonic solids, named for the
Greek philosopher Plato. He considered
The four remaining regular polyhedra are the hexahedron, the octahedron,
them as “building blocks” of nature and
the dodecahedron, and the icosahedron. The hexahedron, or cube, is composed
assigned fire to the tetrahedron, earth
to the cube, air to the octahedron, and
of six squares, each three of which meet at a point. The octahedron is composed of
water to the icosahedron. Because the groups of four regular (i.e., equilateral) triangles meeting at a point. The dodecahe-
dodecahedron is different from the others dron is formed by groups of three regular pentagons, and the icosahedron is made
due to its pentagonal faces, he assigned up of groups of five regular triangles.
to it the cosmos (stars and planets). Two other types of polyhedra are familiar space figures: pyramids and prisms.
(Source: [Link] Pyramids are made of triangular sides and a polygonal base. Prisms have two faces
encyclopedia/Platonic-solid) An animated in parallel planes; these faces are congruent polygons. The remaining faces of a
view of the Platonic solids can be found prism are all parallelograms. (See Figures 55(a) and (b) on the next page.) By this
at [Link] definition, a box is also a prism.
Platonic_solid.
Figure 55(c) shows space figures made up in part of circles, including right
The image above is from an Android
circular cones and right circular cylinders. It also shows how a circle can generate
app (Dice, by [Link]) that simulates
the rolling of polyhedral dice.
a torus, a doughnut-shaped solid that has interesting topological properties. See
Section 9.7.
490 C H A P T E R 9  Geometry

Tetrahedron
Pyramids Prisms

(a) (b)

Hexahedron (cube)

Right Right circular A rotating circle

circular cone cylinder generates a torus.

(c)

Figure 55 
Octahedron

Volume and Surface Area of Space Figures

While area is a measure of surface covered by a plane figure, volume is a measure
of capacity of a space figure. Volume is measured in cubic units. For example, a
cube with edge measuring 1 cm has volume 1 cubic centimeter, which is also writ-
ten as 1 cm3, or 1 cc. The surface area is the total area that would be covered if
the space figure were “peeled” and the peel laid flat. Surface area is measured in
square units.

Dodecahedron
Volume and Surface Area of a Box
Suppose that a box has length /, width w, and height h. Then the volume V
and the surface area S are given by the following formulas.
V = Owh and S = 2Ow + 2Oh + 2hw
If the box is a cube with edge of length s, the formulas are as follows.
V = s3 and S = 6s 2

Icosahedron h s
Patterns such as these may be used to V = Owh                                 V = s 3
construct three-dimensional models of w s
S = 2Ow + 2Oh + 2hw                            S = 6s 2
the regular polyhedra. See s
[Link]
for some examples.

Example 1 Using the Formulas for a Box

Find the volume V and the surface area S of the box shown in Figure 56.

Solution
V = /wh   Volume formula
w = 7 cm
= 14 # 7 # 5  Substitute.
h = 5 cm
= 490   Multiply.
= 14 cm
Volume is measured in cubic units, so the volume of the box is 490 cubic centime-
Figure 56  ters, or 490 cm3.
 9.5  Volume and Surface Area 491

S = 2/w + 2/h + 2hw   Surface area formula

John Conway of Princeton University
offered a reward in the 1990s to anyone = 21142 172 + 21142 152 + 2152 172  Substitute.
producing a holyhedron, a polyhedron
with a finite number of faces and with = 196 + 140 + 70   Multiply.
a hole in every face. At the time, no one
= 406   Add.
knew whether such an object could exist.
When graduate student Jade Vinson Surface areas of space figures are measured in square units, so the surface area of
arrived at Princeton, he immediately took the box is 406 square centimeters, or 406 cm 2 .
up the challenge and in 2000 produced
(at least the proof of the theoretical A typical tin can is an example of a right circular cylinder.
existence of) a holyhedron with
78,585,627 faces. The reward offered
($10,000 divided by the number of faces)
earned Vinson $0.0001. Subsequently, Volume and Surface area of a Right Circular Cylinder
Don Hatch produced one with 492 faces,
good for a prize of $20.33. See this site If a right circular cylinder has height h and the
for some interesting graphics: http:// radius of its base is equal to r, then the volume
[Link]/~hatch/Holyhedron V and the surface area S are given by the fol- V = Pr 2h
lowing formulas. h
S = 2Prh + 2Pr 2

V = Pr 2h r
and S = 2Prh + 2Pr 2
(In the formula for S, the areas of the top and bottom are included.)

Example 2 Using the Formulas for a Right Circular Cylinder

In Figure 57, the volume of medication in the syringe is 10 mL (which is equivalent
to 10 cm3). Find each measure. Use 3.14 as an approximation for p.
(a) the radius of the cylindrical syringe (round to the nearest 0.1 cm)
(b) the surface area of the medication (round to the nearest 0.1 cm2)

Solution
(a) V = pr 2h   Volume formula

10 = pr 2 15.02   V = 10, h = 5.0

2
= r2   Divide by 5.0p.
p

2
r= ≈ 0.8  Take the square root and approximate.
Bp

The radius is approximately 0.8 cm.

(b) S = 2prh + 2pr 2   Surface area formula

Figure 57  = 2p10.8215.02 + 2p10.82 2  r = 0.8, h = 5.0

= 9.28p   Multiply; add.
≈ 29.1   Approximate, using 3.14 for p.

The surface area is approximately 29.1 cm2.

The three-dimensional analogue of a circle is a sphere. It is defined by replac-

ing the word “plane” with “space” in the definition of a circle (Section 9.2).
492 C H A P T E R 9  Geometry

Volume and Surface Area of a Sphere

If a sphere has radius r, then the volume V and
the surface area S are given by the following 4
formulas. V=
3
Pr 3
r
4 S = 4Pr 2
V = Pr 3 and S= 4Pr 2
3

A cone with circular base having its apex (highest point) directly above the center
of its base is a right circular cone.

Volume and Surface Area of a Right Circular Cone

If a right circular cone has height h and
the radius of its circular base is r, then the
1
volume V and the surface area S are given V= Pr 2h
h 3
by the following formulas.
S = Pr !r 2 + h2 + Pr 2
1 r
V = Pr 2h
3

and S = Pr !r 2 + h2 + Pr 2
(In the formula for S, the area of the circular base is included.)

Example 3 Comparing Volumes Using Ratios

Figure 58 shows a right circular cone inscribed in a semi-sphere of radius r.
What is the ratio of the volume of the cone to the volume of the semi-sphere?
r
Solution
Figure 58  First, use the formula for the volume of a cone. Note that because the cone is
inscribed in the semi-sphere, its height is equal to its radius.

1 2 1
V1 = Volume of the cone = pr h = pr 3  Use h = r .
3 3

The semi-sphere will have half the volume of a sphere of radius r.

1# 4 3 2 3
V2 = Volume of the semi@sphere = pr = pr
2 3 3

Now find the ratio of the first volume to the second.

1 3
V1 3 pr 1
=2 =  1
V2
3
pr 3 2 The ratio is  .
2
 9.5  Volume and Surface Area 493

2 A pyramid is a space figure having a polygonal

base and triangular sides. Figure 59 shows a pyra-
mid with a square base.

Pyramid

4 Figure 59 
A problem concerning the frustum of
a pyramid like the one shown above is Volume of a Pyramid
included in the Moscow papyrus, which
dates back to about 1850 b.c. Problem 14 If B represents the area of the base of a
in the document reads: pyramid, and h represents the height (that is, 1
V= Bh
  You are given a truncated pyramid the perpendicular distance from the top, or h
3
of 6 for the vertical height by 4 on apex, to the base), then the volume V is given where B is the area
the base by 2 on the top. You are to of the base
by the following formula.
square this 4, result 16. You are to
double 4, result 8. You are to square 1
V= Bh
2, result 4. You are to add the 16, the 3
8, and the 4, result 28. You are to take
one-third of 6, result 2. You are to
take 28 twice, result 56. See, it is 56.
You will find it right. Example 4 Using the Volume Formula for a Pyramid
The formula for finding the volume of the
frustum of a pyramid with square bases is The Great Pyramid at Giza has a square base. When originally constructed, its
1 base measured about 230 meters on a side, and it was about 147 meters high. What
V = h (B 2 + Bb + b 2),
3 was its volume?
where B is the side length of the lower
Solution
base, b is the side length of the upper
base, and h is the height (or altitude). Use the formula for the volume of a pyramid.
1
V= Bh
3
Since the base is square, the area of the base is the square of the side length.
1
V= 12302 2 11472 = 2,592,100 m3
3

9.5 Exercises
Decide whether each statement is true or false. 6. A dodecahedron can be used as a model for a calendar
for a given year, where each face of the dodecahedron
1. A cube with volume 125 cubic inches has surface area contains a calendar for a single month, and there are
150 square inches.  no faces left over. 

2. A tetrahedron has the same number of faces as Find (a) the volume and (b) the surface area of each space
vertices.  figure. When necessary, use 3.14 as an approximation for
p, and round answers to the nearest hundredth.
3. A sphere with a 1-unit radius has three times as many
units of surface area as it has units of volume.  7. 8.
1 3 in.
4. Each face of an octahedron is an octagon.  2 _4 m
1
2 _2 m 5 in.
5. If you double the length of the edge of a cube, the new 4m
cube will have a volume that is four times the volume (a box) 6 in.
of the original cube.    (a box)
494 C H A P T E R 9  Geometry

9. 10. 2 5. a road construction marker, a cone with height 2 m and

1
base radius 2 m 
14.8 cm
2 6. the conical portion of a witch’s hat for a Halloween cos-
80 ft (a sphere) tume, with height 12 in. and base radius 4 in. 

In the chart below, the value of r (radius), V (volume), or

(a sphere) S (surface area) is given for a particular sphere. Find the
remaining two values. Leave p in your answers.

1 1. 5 cm 1 2. 12 m r V S
4m
27. 6 in.
7 cm (a right circular cylinder)
28. 9 in.
32
29. 3
p cm3
(a right circular cylinder) 256
30. 3
p cm3

31. 4p m2
1 3. 3m 14.
32. 144p m2
7m 6 cm
4 cm
Solve each problem.
(a right circular cone) (a right circular cone)
33. Volume or Surface Area?   In order to determine the
amount of liquid a spherical tank will hold, would you
need to use volume or surface area? 
Find the volume of each pyramid. In each case, the base is
a rectangle. 3 4. Volume or Surface Area?   In order to determine the
amount of leather it would take to manufacture a bas-
1 5. 16. ketball, would you need to use volume or surface area?

35. Irrigation Tank   An irrigation tank is formed of a con-

h = 7 in. h = 10 ft
crete “box” that is 5 ft wide, 5 ft deep, and 10 ft long,
4 ft along with two cylindrical sleeves, each 2 ft high and
9 in. 2.5 ft in diameter. What is the total volume of the tank?
12 ft
8 in. (Use 3.14 as an approximation for p, and round to the
nearest cubic foot.) 
Volumes of Common Objects   Find each volume. Use 3.14 as 2.5
an approximation for p when necessary.
2
17. a coffee can, radius 6.3 cm and height 15.8 cm
5
18. a soup can, radius 3.2 cm and height 9.5 cm  10
5
1 9. a pork-and-beans can, diameter 7.2 cm and height 10.5 cm
3 6. Underground Bunker   An underground bunker is to be
2 0. a cardboard mailing tube, diameter 2 in. and height 40 in. made of concrete 2 ft thick. It will be semi-spherical with
outer radius of 20 feet. How many cubic feet of concrete
21. a coffee mug, diameter 9 cm and height 8 cm 
will be needed to construct the bunker? (Use 3.14 as an
approximation for p, and round to the nearest cubic foot.)
22. a bottle of glue, diameter 3 cm and height 4.3 cm 

2 3. the Red Pyramid at Dahshur, near Cairo—its base
is a square 220 m on a side, and its height is 105 m

2 4. a grain silo in the shape of a right circular cylinder with 18

a base radius of 7 m and a height of 25 m  20
 9.5  Volume and Surface Area 495

37. Side Length of a Cube   One of the three famous con- 47. V = 36p  4 8. V = 245p 
struction problems of Greek mathematics required the
construction of an edge of a cube with twice the vol-
ume of a given cube. If the length of each side of the
x
given cube is x, what would be the length of each side 15
of a cube with twice the original volume? 
x
3 8. Work through the parts of this exercise in order, and
(a sphere) (a right circular cone)
use them to make a generalization concerning volumes
of spheres. Leave answers in terms of p.
Exercises 49–58 require some ingenuity, but all can be
(a) Find the volume of a sphere having radius of 1 m.
solved using the concepts presented so far in this chapter.
(b) Suppose the radius is doubled to 2 m. What is the
volume?  4 9. Volume of a Box   The areas of the sides of a rectan-
(c) When the radius was doubled, by how many times did gular box are 30 in.2, 35 in.2, and 42 in.2. What is the
the volume increase? (To find out, divide the answer volume of the box? 
for part (b) by the answer for part (a).) 
(d) Suppose the radius of the sphere from part (a) is
tripled to 3 m. What is the volume? 
(e) When the radius was tripled, by how many times
did the volume increase? 
(f) In general, if the radius of a sphere is multiplied by
n, the volume is multiplied by . 5 0. Ratio of Volumes   Three tennis balls are stacked in
a cylindrical container that touches the stack on all
Cost to Fill a Spherical Tank   If a spherical tank 2  m in sides, on the top, and on the bottom. What is the ratio
diameter can be filled with a liquid for $300, find the cost to of the volume filled with tennis balls to the volume of
fill tanks of each diameter. empty space in the container? 

39. 6 m  40.
8 m  41.
10 m  51. Equal Area and Volume   The inhabitants of Planet
Volarea have a unit of distance called a volar. The
4 2. Use the logic of Exercise 38 to answer the following: number of square volars in the planet’s surface area is
If the radius of a sphere is multiplied by n, then the the same as the number of cubic volars in the planet’s
surface area of the sphere is multiplied by . volume. If the diameter of Volarea is 1800 miles, how
many miles are in a volar? 
4 3. Volume Decrease   The radius of a sphere is decreased
by 30%. By what percent does the volume decrease? 5 2. Change in Volume   If the height of a right circular cyl-
Round to the nearest 0.1%.  inder is halved and the diameter is tripled, how is the
volume changed? 
4 4. Surface Area Decrease   The length of each edge of a
cube is decreased by 40%. By what percent does the
surface area decrease?  
h

Each of the following figures has the volume indicated.

d
Find the value of x.

4 5. V = 60  4 6. V = 450  53. Ratio of Areas  What is the ratio of the area of the circum-
scribed square to the area of the inscribed square? 

x
4 x–1
6 x
(a box) h = 15
Base is a rectangle.
(a pyramid)
496 C H A P T E R 9  Geometry

5 4. Perimeter of a Square   Suppose the diameter of the cir- 5 8. Ratio of Surface Area to Base Area   The figure shows
cle shown is 8 in. What is the perimeter of the inscribed a pyramid with square base and with height equal to
square ABCD?  the side length of the base. Find the ratio of the entire
surface area to the area of the base.
A B

D C x

2x
55. Value of a Sum   In the circle shown with center O,
the radius is 6. QTSR is an inscribed square. Find the
value of Euler’s Formula   Many crystals and some viruses are con-
structed in the shapes of regular polyhedra.
PQ2 + PT 2 + PR2 + PS2. 
P
Q T

R S

5 6. Ratio of Side Lengths   The square JOSH is inscribed in

a semicircle. What is the ratio of x to y ?
J O
x
x x
y x y Radiolara virus
H S
Leonhard Euler investigated a remarkable relationship
57. Frustum of a Pyramid  The feature “When Will I Ever among the numbers of faces (F), vertices (V), and edges (E)
Use This?” on the next page shows an application of for the five regular polyhedra. Complete the chart in Exer-
the frustum of a pyramid. Use the figure below to help cises 59– 63, and then draw a conclusion in Exercise 64.
verify the formula for the volume of the frustum of a
pyramid with square base. (Note that, in this formula,
B and b are the lengths of the sides of the bases, not the Faces Vertices Edges Value of
areas of the bases.) Polyhedron (F) (V) (E) F+V−E

1 59. Tetrahedron
V= h 1B2 + Bb + b2 2
3
60. Hexahedron
(cube)

61. Octahedron
H
62. Dodecahedron
b
h
63. Icosahedron

B 64. Euler’s formula is F + V - E = .

 9.5  Volume and Surface Area 497

When Will I Ever Use This ?

Suppose you are a video game programmer employing digital animation.
You have created a “virtual world” with objects placed relatively uniformly
throughout. You want the user to be able to navigate around this world and
see objects “behind the screen” and within a reasonable visibility range. This
“volume of visibility” is the frustum of a square-based pyramid with its apex
at the vantage point of the player. (See Figure 60.) It is called the view frus-
tum. Its near plane (the screen) and far plane (at the limit of the visible range)
are shown in green in the figure. The view frustum contains all objects that
are potentially viewable (although some objects may obstruct the player’s
view of others in the view frustum).
1
Suppose the screen is square, measuring about 3 meter on a side, and is
about 1 meter away from the user’s eye. If the range of visibility is 300 me-
ters, what is the volume of the view frustum? If the entire virtual world can be
represented by a circular cylinder of radius 1000 meters and height 200 me-
ters, what percentage of the world is contained within a single view frustum?
The view frustum is shown in detail in Figure 61. Since it has square bases,
its volume is given (see the margin note on page 493) by
1
V= h 1B 2 + Bb + b 2 2,  Volume formula
3
Figure 60  where B is the side length of the larger base, and b is the side length of the
smaller base. To find B, we use similar triangles.
300 B
= 1   Ratios of corresponding sides are equal.
1
3

100 = B   Multiply using cross products.

299 m
We now substitute values for h, B, and b into the formula.
1m
B 1
V= h1B 2 + Bb + b 2 2   Volume formula
1 3
3
1 1 1 1
Figure 61  = 12992 Q1002 + 100 Q 3 R + Q 3 R 2 R   h = 299, B = 100, b =
3 3

≈ 1,000,000   Simplify.

The volume of the view frustum is about 1,000,000 m3.

The volume of the entire virtual world is
V = pr 2h Volume of a right circular cylinder

= p110002 2 12002 r = 1000, h = 200

≈ 3.1411,000,0002 12002 p ≈ 3.14; multiply.

= 628,000,000 Multiply.
1
A single view frustum contains about 628
≈ 0.16% of the entire virtual world.
The software you are using for rendering three-dimensional objects allows
for frustum culling, which instructs the graphics hardware to render only the
objects in the view frustum, rather than all of the objects in the virtual world.
This allows for a much more efficient use of memory and processor speed,
which lead to shorter loading times and a better player experience.