If you’ve ever tilted a rectangle and ended up with a slanted shape that still somehow looks familiar, congratulations—you’ve met a parallelogram! But when it comes to calculating its area, some students get stuck. Let’s break it down together, step by step, and by the end of this blog, you’ll confidently know how to find the area of a parallelogram—without needing to Google it again.
What Is a Parallelogram?
A parallelogram is a four-sided figure (a quadrilateral) in which opposite sides are parallel and equal in length. Picture it as a compressed rectangle. It’s common to find rhombuses and rectangles themselves, but only with their opposite sides remaining parallel.
Quick Check:
Can you spot the parallelogram?
Square
Triangle
Rhombus
Pentagon
Tell us your answer in the comment section!
Rhombus — It has all sides equal and opposite sides parallel, which fits the definition!
The Area of a Parallelogram: The Basic Idea
Now to the big question—what is the area of a parallelogram?
Here’s the formula for the area of parallelogram formula that you must remember:
Area = base × height
(Area = b × h)
That’s it. Nothing complicated. Simply multiply the base (b) by the height (h).
But let’s make sure we know what we’re multiplying.
- Base (b): One of parallelogram’s sides (bottom side typically).
- Height (h): The perpendicular distance from the base to the opposite side (not the side length!).
Important: Don’t confuse the height with the slant side. It’s the vertical straight line from top to bottom all the way to the base—the shortest distance between two points.
How to Find the Area of a Parallelogram (With Example)
Let’s look at an example to see this in action.
Example 1:
You’re given a parallelogram with:
- Base = 10 cm
- Height = 5 cm
Step-by-step:
Area = base × height
Area = 10 × 5 = 50 cm²
That’s it—you’ve just calculated the area of a parallelogram!
Try It Yourself: Interactive Mini Quiz
Let’s test your understanding with a few practice questions. Grab a pen and paper—or just try to do it mentally!
A parallelogram has a base of 8 cm and a height of 4 cm.
What is the area?
The base is 12 meters, and the height is 6 meters.
What is the area?
A parallelogram has a slanted side of 9 cm, a base of 7 cm, and the height is 5 cm.
Which numbers do you use to calculate the area, and what’s the answer?
Find the answers at the end of the blog
Why Students Get Confused?
Many students make one common mistake:
They use the slanted side (not the perpendicular height) when calculating the area. But remember—the area is always base × height, and the height must form a 90° angle with the base.
When You’ll Use This In Real Life
Believe it or not, parallelograms are used more than you think—in architecture, floor plans, even in art and design. Understanding how to calculate the area helps when laying tiles, designing patterns, or solving geometry problems in higher classes.
Final Thoughts
Now that you know the formula for finding the area of a parallelogram like an expert, store the formula in your memory bank—base × height—and don’t forget to use the perpendicular height, not the slant height.
Whether you are preparing for a math test, working on homework, or just interested, you’ve now got the tools necessary to solve any parallelogram area problem in your sleep.
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| Answers to Quiz Questions: | |
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1. 8 × 4 = 32 cm² 2. 12 × 6 = 72 m² 3.Use base (7 cm) and height (5 cm). Ignore the slanted side. Area = 7 × 5 = 35 cm² |
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The formula for the area of a parallelogram is Area = base × height. The base can be any one side of the parallelogram, and the height is the perpendicular distance from that base to the opposite side.
If only the sides are given and not the height, you need to know the angle between the sides or use trigonometry to find the perpendicular height before applying the formula: Area = base × height.
No, the slanted side cannot be used as the height. The height should be perpendicular to the base. Using the slant will give you an incorrect area.
Both shapes use the formula Area = base × height, but in a rectangle, the height and base form a 90° angle by default, while in a parallelogram, the height is not a side—it’s a perpendicular distance drawn from one side to the opposite.
To calculate area by using diagonals, you also need to know what the angle between them is, so it becomes more complicated. Usually, the area of a parallelogram is not found by using diagonals but by using base and height.
The parallelogram can be rearranged as a rectangle of the same size. By cutting one triangle off the one end and shifting it over to the other, it is a rectangle, and this is why the area = base × height.
