Explanation
A parallelogram is a quadrilateral (4-sided) shape with two pairs of parallel sides. The opposite sides of a parallelogram are the same length, and the opposite angles have the same measure. In Euclidean geometry, the area enclosed by a parallelogram is defined by this formula: A= bh , where b stands for base and h stands for height.
In Excel, the same formula can be represented like this:
=b*h
So, for example, to calculate the area of a parallelogram where b is 5, and h is 4, you can use a formula like this:
=5*4 // returns 20
In the example shown, the goal is to calculate the area for eleven parallelograms using the base value in column B and the height value in column C. The formula in D5 is
=B5*C5
Because both cells are entered as relative references , as the formula is copied down the table, it calculates a different area at each new row.
Explanation
In geometry, the area enclosed by a trapezoid is defined by this formula:
where a is the length of side a, b is the length of side b, and h is the height, measured at a right angle to the base. In Excel, the same formula can be represented like this:
=(a+b)/2*h
So, for example, to calculate the area of a trapezoid where a is 3, b is 5, and h is 2, you can use a formula like this:
=(5+3)/2*2 // returns 8
In the example shown, the goal is to calculate the area for eleven trapezoids where a comes from column B, b is in column C, and h comes from column D. The formula in E5 is:
=(B5+C5)/2*D5
As this formula is copied down the table, it calculates a different area at each new row.
Note: The parentheses in this formula are optional and for readability only. In Excel’s order of operations , multiplication will occur before division, so the parentheses are unnecessary.
