A field is in the shape of a trapezium whose parallel sides are 25 m and 10 m. The non-parallel sides are 14 m and 13 m. Find the area of the field.

Solution:

First, draw a line segment BE parallel to the line AD. Then, from B, draw a perpendicular on the line segment CD.

Now, it can be seen that the quadrilateral ABED is a parallelogram. So,

AB = ED = 10 m

AD = BE = 13 m

EC = 25-ED = 25-10 = 15 m

Now, consider the triangle BEC,

Its semi perimeter (s) = (13+14+15)/2 = 21 m

By using Heron’s formula,

Area of ΔBEC =

= 84 m2

We also know that the area of ΔBEC = (½)×CE×BF

84 cm2 = (½)×15×BF

BF = (168/15) cm = 11.2 cm

So, the total area of ABED will be BF×DE i.e. 11.2×10 = 112 m2

∴ Area of the field = 84+112 = 196 m2