Which expression correctly gives the area of a rectangle?

Which expression correctly gives the area of a rectangle?

• A. length × width
• B. 2 × (length + width)
• C. length × height
• D. base × height

Answer: (A)

Area is found by multiplying the two side lengths of a rectangle. If you think of a rectangle with a length along one side and a width along the adjacent side, filling it with unit squares shows that the total number of squares equals length × width. This is the standard way to express the area of a rectangle. The other options refer to different concepts or use terms that aren’t as commonly used for this shape in basic geometry: 2 × (length + width) gives the perimeter, not area; length × height uses a different pair of dimensions; and base × height is a general formula for parallelograms, which can apply to a rectangle but is less typical in this context.

Area is found by multiplying the two side lengths of a rectangle. If you think of a rectangle with a length along one side and a width along the adjacent side, filling it with unit squares shows that the total number of squares equals length × width.

This is the standard way to express the area of a rectangle. The other options refer to different concepts or use terms that aren’t as commonly used for this shape in basic geometry: 2 × (length + width) gives the perimeter, not area; length × height uses a different pair of dimensions; and base × height is a general formula for parallelograms, which can apply to a rectangle but is less typical in this context.