Finding Area of a Quadrilateral

Question

Can someone please help me through this problem? I am not even really sure where I should start.

Quadrilateral ABCD has vertices A(-2,-2), B(1,4), C(8,4), D(5,2). Find the area of the quadrilateral, round your answer to the nearest tenth if necessary.

What kind of quadrilateral is this? What are the side lengths? — David H, Jun 06 '14 at 02:44
That is the problem that I am having. That is all the information that is given. — IHeartBunnies, Jun 06 '14 at 02:46
Try drawing a diagram and see if you can split it into two triangles. — BlackAdder, Jun 06 '14 at 02:46
@IHeartBunnies you were given four points. Just plot them on a graph and see what they look like. Then use the coordinates of the points and the distance formula to compute the side lengths. — David H, Jun 06 '14 at 02:51
My teacher wouldn't let us use a graph, but I see how you could use the distance formula. — IHeartBunnies, Jun 06 '14 at 02:54

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 06 '14 at 02:54

1

Hint: Partition your polygon so that you get a trapezoid and a triangle, like below.

enter image description here

Then apply your formulas for area of a triangle and area of a trapezoid.

answered Jun 06 '14 at 02:54

Cookie

13,532

Finding Area of a Quadrilateral

1 Answers1