What this covers
Area of Rectangles and Squares is taught in Year 5 (age 10 to 11) as a main teaching focus. It sits in the Measurement strand.
Worked example
A rectangle has a length of 9 cm and an area of 54 cm^2. What is its width
- Recall the formula for area: Area = length × width.
- Substitute known values: 54 = 9 × width.
- Divide area by length: width = 549 = 6 cm.
Answer: 6 cm
Difficulty scale
The sheet generator offers five difficulty settings for this topic.
- Counting whole unit squares on a grid to find area.
- Area of rectangles and squares using integer multiplication within times tables.
- Area of rectangles with two-digit integer dimensions or simple decimal lengths.
- Area of compound rectilinear (L or T) shapes by partitioning into two rectangles.
- Reverse problems finding unknown side lengths, or problems combining perimeter and area.
Common mistakes
- Confusing area and perimeter by adding all side lengths instead of multiplying base by height.
- Forgetting to subtract overlapping areas when partitioning compound rectilinear shapes.
Curriculum links
Indicative matches to Australian Curriculum v9. Check wording and codes against the official document.
- AC9M5M01 Calculate the perimeter and area of rectangles using standard metric units.