compose a rectangle to help find the area of a trapezoid shape table top in square inches
To find the area of a trapezoid shape table top, we can use the concept of composing a rectangle.
Imagine the trapezoid table top as shown below:
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______________
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|_/__________|
```
Now, let's compose a rectangle around the trapezoid as shown:
```
___________________
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|________/________|
```
The area of this rectangle is equal to the sum of the areas of the trapezoid and the two additional triangles on the sides.
To find the area of the trapezoid table top, we can find the area of the rectangle and subtract the areas of the two triangles.
1. Find the area of the rectangle:
Width of rectangle = width of trapezoid table top
Length of rectangle = length of trapezoid table top
Area of rectangle = (width of trapezoid table top) * (length of trapezoid table top)
2. Find the area of the two triangles:
Area of one triangle = 0.5 * base * height
Subtract the sum of the areas of the two triangles from the area of the rectangle to get the final area of the trapezoid table top in square inches.