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Perimeter 2. Find the perimeter of the following square:

______________
Peri means “around” and meter means “measure.” So,
the perimeter of any figure is simply the measure
around the figure. 6 ft.

Rectangles and Squares

To find the perimeter of a rectangle or square, simply
find the sum of the measurements of each side of the
Triangles
figure.
To find the perimeter of a triangle, simply sum the
measurements of the three sides.
Perimeter of a rectangle = l + l + w + w = 2l +
For example, let’s find the perimeter of the fol-
2w (l = length and w = width)
lowing triangle:

w 7 cm

4 cm
l

6 cm
Perimeter of a square = s + s + s + s = 4s
(s = side length)
Perimeter = 4 cm + 6 cm + 7 cm = 17 cm

Pythagorean Theorem
The Pythagorean theorem is used to find a missing
side of a right triangle.
s

c
Practice a
1. Find the perimeter of the following rectangle:
______________
b

3 in.
The theorem that shows the relationship between
these three sides is
5 in.

a2 + b2 = c2

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When using this formula for right triangles, sides a Polygons

and b are interchangeable, but c is always the longest To find the perimeter of a polygon, find the sum of
side. This is called the hypotenuse. the measurements of all the sides. For example, let’s
find the perimeter of the following figure:
Example
What is the length of side b? 4 yd.
1.5 yd.

b
5
1.5 yd.

4 yd.
7

Perimeter = 4 yd. + 4 yd. + 1.5 yd. + 1.5 yd. +

Use the Pythagorean theorem to find side b. Substi- 1.5 yd. + 1.5 yd.
tute the given values into the equation: = 2(4 yd.) + 4(1.5 yd.)
= 8 yd. + 6 yd.
a2 + b2 = c2 = 14 yd.
52 + 72 = b2
25 + 49 = b2 Practice
74 = b2 5. One side of a regular octagon has a length of 4
74 = b 2 cm. What is the perimeter of the octagon?
8.60 = b a. 8 cm
b. 24 cm
Practice c. 36 cm
3. What is the missing side length of the follow- d. 32 cm
ing triangle? ____________
6. Rusty needs to order enough wood to fence in
the community garden grounds, which are in
the shape of a regular pentagon—a pentagon
12
6 with five congruent sides. If the fencing costs
$12.50 per foot, how much will it cost to fence
in the community garden? ________

4. Reggie bikes to work every day, going 10 miles

north from his house on Robert Street and
then going 8 miles east on Dodd Road. He can
bike 18 mph. How much time would Reggie
save if he used the bike path that cuts straight 15 ft.
through the park? _____________

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Circumference Example
The circumference of a circle measures the distance What is the circumference of the following circle if
around the circle. This concept is similar to finding AB = 4 cm?
the perimeter of a straight-sided figure. However,
since a circle does not have any straight sides, the dis- B
tance around the circle—the circumference—needs
to be calculated differently. A
Before you can calculate the circumference of a
circle, there are a few terms you need to know.

To find the circumference of the circle, use the for-

C A D mula 2 r. In this problem, the radius, r, is 4 cm:

C=2 r
= 2 (4 cm)
= 8(3.14) cm
= 25.12 cm

Center: In the figure, the center is at point A.

Practice
Radius: Any line that is drawn from the center,
7. If the circumference of the circle is 62.8 mm,
A, to the outside of the circle is called a radius.
what is the diameter of CD? ____________
Thus, the line from A to D, AD, is a radius, and
the distance from A to C, CA, is a radius. There-
fore, AD = CA.
area
Diameter: Any line that is drawn from one end
of the circle to the other end and passes
Whereas the perimeter refers to the measurement
through the center of the circle is called a diam-
around a figure, area refers to the measurement inside
eter. Thus, the line is a diameter because it
a figure. In general, to find the area of figures such as
passes through the center of the circle, A.
rectangles, squares, triangles, and circles, you will use
Notice that CA + AD = CD. The length of
multiplication.
the diameter of a circle is equivalent to two
times the radius: d = 2r.
Rectangles and Squares
(pi—sounds like “pie”) =
The formula for the area of a rectangle is:
3.14159265359 . . .
For the purposes of equations involving
Area = base × height, or A = bh
circles, you can round to 3.14.
The formula for the area of a square is:
rEmEmBEr
Area = side × side, or A = s2
The formula for finding the circumference of
a circle is 2 r or 2d.

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Example 1
A = __
2 bh
What is the area of this figure? 1
= ( __
2
)(3.5 cm)(4.5 cm)
1
= ( __
2
)(15.75 cm2)
2 ft. = 7.875 cm2 7.88 cm2

8 ft.
Circles
Remember, area = base × height. The equation for the area of a circle is A = r2.

A = bh Example
= (8 ft.)(2 ft.) Find the area of the following circle if line AB mea-
= 16 ft.2 sures 2.75 inches.

Notice that the units are squared since we are multi-

plying feet by feet.
A B
Practice
8. If the area of a square is 52 in.2, what is its
perimeter to the nearest tenth of an inch?
___________
A = r2
A = (2.75 in.)2
Triangles
1 1 = 7.5625 in.2
The area of a triangle is __ __
2 × base × height, or A = 2 bh.
= 23.74625 in.2 23.75 in.2
This formula looks similar to the area of a rectangle,
except the formula for the area of a triangle includes
1 Practice
multiplying by __ 2 . Why is that? Notice in the follow-
9. What is the area of this circle? _________
ing figure that a triangle is half of a rectangle.

9.5 cm B
A
C

Example
What is the area of the following triangle?
4.5 cm

3.5 cm

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10. Brenda has hired a landscaper to turn her soil- Example

covered backyard into a unique hangout spot. If the height of the prism is 3 cm and the length of
She would like to have a circular deck with a the prism is 8 cm, what is the width in cm if the vol-
diameter of 10 feet built in the middle of her ume is 96 cm3?
rectangular backyard, which is 25 feet by 18 First, write the formula for the volume of a rect-
feet. Since the yard is soil right now, she is angular prism. Then, substitute for known values.
going to purchase sod to go around the deck. If
the contractor charges $1.20 per square foot of V = Bh
sod installed, how much will the purchase of 96 cm3 = (8 cm)(3 cm)w
the sod cost Brenda? _____________ 96 cm3
______ (24 cm2)w
________
24 cm2 = 24 cm2
4 cm = w

Volume Practice
11. These two boxes have the same volume (V = l ×
Volume refers to the entire amount of space enclosed w × h). Find the length of the missing side on
within a three-dimensional figure. The formulas for box B.
calculating the volume of a rectangular prism, right
prism, cylinder, right pyramid, cone, and sphere will
be available to you during the GED® test. You do not 3 cm
need to memorize the formulas; just become com-
fortable with using them. 4 cm
4 cm
Box A
Rectangular/Right Prisms
To find the volume of a rectangular prism, or right
prism, use the following formula: V = Bh, where B is
the area of the base (length × width) and h is the x
height.
Notice that the only difference between the area
of a rectangle and the volume of a rectangular prism
6 cm
is the addition of a dimension of height. Pay close
2 cm
attention to the units of volume in this section. They
Box B
are cubed, not squared, reflecting the addition of a
a. 3
dimension.
b. 4
c. 5
d. 6
h
Cylinders
To find the volume of a cylinder, use the formula V =
r2h. Notice that the only difference between the area
B=l×w
of a circle and the volume of a cylinder is the addition
of the dimension of height. Again, this addition of a

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term to multiply in the equation will change the units We know the volume is 54 mm3. We can find B by
from squared units to cubic units. multiplying the length × width of the rectangular
base:
Practice
12. Find the volume of the cylinder shown here. B = (6 mm)(3 mm)
________ = 18 mm2

5 in. Return to the formula and substitute the known val-

ues to find the height:

8 in. 1
V = __
3 Bh
1
54 mm3 = __ 2
3 (18 mm )(h)
1
(3)(54 mm3) = (3) __ 2
3 (18 mm )(h)
162 mm3 = (18 mm2)h
9 mm = h
13. An empty cylindrical can has a height of 4
inches and a base with a radius of 1.5 inches. Right Circular Cones
Melanie fills the can with water. What is the To find the volume of a right circular cone, use the
1 2
volume of the water Melanie pours into the formula V = __3 r h. Notice that it is similar to the
1
can? volume of a cylinder except for the factor of __
3.
a. 5.5 cubic inches
b. 6 cubic inches
c. 6.5 cubic inches
d. 9 cubic inches

Right Pyramids
To find the volume of a right pyramid, use the for-
1
mula V = __
3 Bh, where B is the area of the base and h is
the height of the prism from the center of the base to
the point of the pyramid.

Example Practice
Let’s find the height of this pyramid if the volume is 14. Find the radius of the cone if the volume is
54 mm3. 148 cm3 and the height is 7 cm. Round your
answer to the nearest tenth of a centimeter.
________________

m
6m
3 mm

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Spheres where B is the area of the base, p is the perimeter of

To find the volume of a sphere, use the formula V = base B, and h is the height.
4 3
__
3 r .
Example
Example Let’s calculate the surface area of this figure.
Let’s find the volume of this sphere if the diameter is
11 inches.
4 in.

8 in. 3 in.

There are three unknown values you need to find in

order to solve for the surface area: p, h, and B.
The diameter of 11 inches informs us that the radius
is half of 11 inches; the radius is, therefore, 5.5 inches. p = the perimeter of the base = 8 in. + 8 in. +
Substitute this value back into the formula to find the 3 in. + 3 in. = 22 in.
volume of the sphere: h = the height of the prism = 4 in.
B = the area of the base = (8 in.)(3 in.) = 24 in.2
4
V = __
3 r
3

4 Substitute these values into the formula to get

V = __
3 (5.5 in.)
3

4
V = __ 3
3 (166.375 in. ) SA = (22 in.)(4 in.) + 2(24 in.2)
4
V = __ 3 = 88 in.2 + 48 in.2
3 (522.4175 in. )
= 696.5566 in.3 = 136 in.2

So, the surface area of the figure is 136 square inches.

surface area
Right Circular Cylinders
Surface area refers to the area of the entire outside of The formula for the surface area of a cylinder is
a three-dimensional figure. The formulas for calcu-
lating the surface area of a rectangular prism, right SA = 2 rh + 2 r2
prism, cylinder, right pyramid, cone, and sphere will
be available to you during the test. You do not need to where r is the radius and h is the height of the
memorize the formulas; just become comfortable cylinder.
with using them.

Rectangular/Right Prisms
The formula for calculating the surface area of a rect-
angular, or right, prism is

SA = ph +2B

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Practice We can see that the slant length, s, is 6.4 ft. To find p
15. Find the surface area of a cylinder that has a and B, we need to do a few calculations.
diameter of 12 cm and a height of 20 cm.
__________ p = the perimeter of base B = 5 ft. + 5 ft. + 4 ft.
+ 4 ft. = 18 ft.
12 cm B = the area of the base = (5 ft.)(4 ft.) = 20 ft.2

Substitute these values into the formula:

1
SA = __
2 ps + B
1
SA = __
2 (18 ft.)(6.4 ft.) + 20 ft.
2

20 cm
= 57.6 ft.2 + 20 ft.2
= 77.6 ft.2

Right Pyramids So, the surface area of the pyramid is 77.6 square feet.
The formula for the surface area of a right pyramid is
Right Circular Cones
1
SA = __
2 ps + B
The formula for the surface area of a cone is

where B is the area of the base, p is the perimeter of SA = rs + r2

base B, and s is the slant length.
Since it is a right pyramid, the highest point is where r is the radius and s is the slant length.
directly above the center of the base. Thus, all four
slant lengths are the same. Practice

Example
For example, let’s find the surface area of the right
pyramid pictured:
ft.
6.4

t.
4f
5 ft. 16. Find the surface area of the right circular cone
that has a radius of 10 mm and a slant length
of 25 mm. ____________

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Spheres an office building on a size of paper that is manage-

The formula for the surface area of a sphere is able, scale factors are necessary. If every shape and
dimension of the floor plan is reduced by the same
SA = 4r2 factor, the drawing will be an accurate reproduction
of the spatial dimensions.
where r is the radius.
Notice that this formula is the area of one circle, Example
r2, multiplied by 4. What are the new dimensions of this triangle if it is
increased by a scale factor of 4?

5
4

3
Let’s calculate the radius of a sphere if its surface area
is 113.04 square inches. Multiply each side length by 4 to get the new
In this problem, the surface area is given, and dimensions:
we need to solve for the radius. Substitute the value of
the surface area into the formula and solve for r.

SA = 4 r2
113.04 in.2 = 4 r2
113.04 in.2
________ 4(3.14)
_______r2
4(3.14) = 4(3.14)
9 in.2 = r2
9 in.2 = r2
3 in. = r
20
16
So, the radius of the sphere is 3 in.

scale Factor

A scale factor is a factor that multiplies a term to

change the value at a constant rate. For example, if 4
is multiplied by a scale factor of 3, the value is now
12
12.
Scale factors can be used in a variety of settings:
maps, floor plans, blueprints, and other geometric
drawings. For example, to reproduce the floor plan of

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