Find the area of the isosceles trapezoid below by using the area formulas for rectangles and triangles.
8cm
11cm
4cm
The isosceles trapezoid can be divided into a rectangle and two triangles.
Consider the rectangle: Let the base be 4 cm and the height be 8 cm.
Area of the rectangle = base * height = 4 cm * 8 cm = 32 cm².
Now consider the two triangles: The base of each triangle will be (11 cm - 4 cm)/2 = 3.5 cm, and the height is 8 cm.
Area of each triangle = 0.5 * base * height = 0.5 * 3.5 cm * 8 cm = 14 cm².
Since there are two triangles, their total area is 2 * 14 cm² = 28 cm².
The total area of the isosceles trapezoid is the sum of the areas of the rectangle and the triangles.
Total area = rectangle area + triangle area = 32 cm² + 28 cm² = 60 cm².
Thus, the area of the isosceles trapezoid is 60 cm².