Irregular shapes are shapes that cannot be precisely described in terms of geometrical shapes. Their edges and vertices are not uniform.
An estimate of the area of an irregular shape can be made by dividing the shape up into squares each of area 1 cm2 . By counting the number of small squares, the area of the irregular shape can be estimated. consider the diagram below.
in the figure above, the number of squares that are completely covered by the shape are 39. The number of squares that have been touched by the figure (partially covered) are 30. confirm by counting.
The area is thus calculated as follow:
Area covered by complete squares = 39 cm2 .
Area covered by partially covered squares = 30/2= 15cm2 .
Therefore the area covered by the figure =( 39 + 15 ) cm2=54 cm2
Hence the estimated area of the given figure is 54 cm2
Practice Question
Determine the area of the figure below.
