The area of a parallelogram with base b and height h is given by which expression?

• A. base × height
• B. 1/2 × base × height
• C. (b1 + b2) × h
• D. h × sqrt(base)

Answer: (A)

Area is found by multiplying the base by the perpendicular height. In a parallelogram, the height is the distance between the base and the opposite side measured straight up, not along a slanted edge. If you slide the top edge down so the shape becomes a rectangle with the same base and height, you keep the same area. That rectangle has area b × h, so the parallelogram’s area is also b × h.

If you try the other expressions, you’ll see why they don’t match a parallelogram. Half of base times height gives the area of a triangle, not a parallelogram. The sum of the two bases times height is the formula for a trapezoid, which has two different bases. Height times the square root of the base isn’t a standard area formula for common shapes. For base b and height h, the correct expression is base times height. For a concrete example, with base 6 and height 4, the area is 6 × 4 = 24.