Area of a Shape

Zuri and Freddie have been playing BlockBuilders on an old computer they found in the landfill. After building with blocks, they want to find out whose world is larger. In order to determine which structures are larger, they will need to calculate their area or the size of the surface. Let's help them measure the area using square units. "Area of a Shape Using Square Units". Area is the amount of space a figure takes up on a flat surface. We can determine the area of a figure using square units. Square units measure one unit in length on each side. This means the space they take up measures one square unit of area. We can lay square units side by side, without spaces or overlaps, across the entire surface of a figure. This measures the amount of space it takes up. To calculate the total area, you need to count each square unit. We can use this same strategy to find out the area of Zuri and Freddie's builds. They want to compare the areas of the houses, pools and playgrounds they built. Let's begin by counting all of the square units within the floor plan of Zuri's house. We start in one corner and carefully count each square. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty! Zuri's house is twenty square units. Let's count the floor plan of Freddie's house now. Ready, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen! Freddie's house is seventeen square units. So, the area of his house is a little smaller than Zuri's. Now let's calculate the areas of their pools! How do we determine the area of Zuri's pool? We count all of the square units within the figure. Ready, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen! Zuri's pool is sixteen square units. How do we determine the area of Freddie's pool? We count all of the square units within the rectangle. Let's count, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four! Freddie's pool is twenty-four square units. So, Freddie has the larger pool. Finally, they want to compare the area of their playgrounds. How do we determine the area of Zuri's playground? We count all of the square units within the floorplan. Ready, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen! The area of Zuri's playground measures fourteen square units! How do we determine the area of Freddie's playground? We count all of the square units within the figure. Ready, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen. Freddie's playground also measures fourteen square units. Even though their playgrounds are different shapes, they still have the same area! Before Zuri and Freddie compare their worlds, let's review! Remember, area is the amount of space a figure takes up on a flat surface. We can find the area of a figure using square units. These are boxes that measure one unit of length on each side and have an area of one square unit. We lay the squares side by side without spaces or overlaps across the entire surface of the figure. Then, we count all of the squares to find the area. Finally, we write our total area in square units. "Hmmm, so whose world do you think was bigger?" "Well it looks like, hey, what happened?!" "Ohh noo! I guess we'll have to start all over again but, we can work together this time!"