Language, notation and formulas

3.1.1 Try some yourself

Activity 12

Write the folowing as word formulas and then shorten them

  • (a) The area of a square is its length squared.

  • (b) The area of a rectangle is its length times its breadth.

  • (c) The area of a triangle is half its base times its height

Answer

  • (a) The area of a square = (length)2 = l2 where l stands for length.

  • (b) The area of a rectangle = (length) × (breadth) = l × b or lb where l stands for length and b for breadth.

  • (c) The area of a triangle is (base) × (height) = b × h or bh where b stands for base and h for height

(Note it is important to be clear about what each letter represents).