Area of compound shapes

I can find the area of compound shapes involving circles in different ways.

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Year 10

Higher

Area of compound shapes

I can find the area of compound shapes involving circles in different ways.

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Share activities with pupils

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Lesson details

Key learning points

There are multiple ways to find the area of compound shapes.
The most efficient method may depend on the features of the shape.
A method is to break the shape into shapes you can find the area of.
A method is to complete the shape.
A method is to rearrange the shape.

Keywords

Compound shape - A compound shape is a shape created using two or more basic shapes.
Composite shape - A composite shape is an alternative for a compound shape.
Area - The area is the size of the surface and states the number of unit squares needed to completely cover that surface.

Common misconception

Due to the many thought processes involved with these questions, pupils may end up choosing the incorrect value as the radius for a sector.

Encourage the use of words in their working e.g. "Diameter of shape A = 4 cm" or "Width of parallelogram = 6 mm" so when the numbers are needed again it is clear what each one is. If needed remind pupils of key word definitions such as radius.

Pythagoras' Theorem is used in some of the questions and properties of quadrilaterals so you may wish to revisit these topics with pupils prior to the lesson.

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Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).