JoLynn Hallmark

Area of a Rectangle

Answering the uncertainty of whether or not the area of a rectangle that has a fixed

perimeter will always be the same regardless of the length and width of the rectangle requires a

simple experiment involving just a piece of string, a ruler and a brain. To test this question take a

looped string so that it will always have the same perimeter and arrange a wide variety of

rectangles, some long and skinny some fat and wide, the point is to vary the sizes of the rectangle

to each end of the spectrum. For each rectangle take the ruler and record the length and the

width. For accuracy take the measurement that is determined by the scale on the ruler and go one

more place value to the right and take the best estimate that is presented. In order to find the area

of the rectangle take the length times the width and be sure to label it with cm2. For best

precision use significant digits because they allow one to find the most accurate answer. When

determining how many significant digits the area should have, count the number of significant

digits for each of the multipliers, and the one which has the smallest significant digits is the

number used to round for the area. As far as the geometric shape that grants the largest area is a

square because it has the biggest number for each side that there can be, this is proved when you

look at a graph the highest point on the graph has the largest area. In conclusion the area of a

rectangle that has a fixed perimeter will NOT always be the same regardless of the length and

width, in other words the length and width do matter in determining the area of a rectangle

whose perimeter is equal.