Program to calculate area and perimeter of Trapezium

A trapezium is a quadrilateral that has at least one pair of parallel sides. The area and perimeter of a trapezium can be calculated using specific mathematical formulas.

Syntax

Perimeter = side1 + side2 + side3 + side4
Area = 0.5 * (parallel_side1 + parallel_side2) * height

Formula Explanation

• Perimeter: Sum of all four sides of the trapezium
• Area: Half the product of the sum of parallel sides and the perpendicular distance between them

Example

This program calculates the area and perimeter of a trapezium using the given measurements −

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    int a = 2, b = 3, c = 5, d = 4, h = 5;
    float area, perimeter;
    
    printf("The sides of trapezium are %d, %d, %d, %d<br>", a, b, c, d);
    printf("Distance between two parallel sides is %d<br>", h);
    
    /* Calculate perimeter (sum of all sides) */
    perimeter = a + b + c + d;
    
    /* Calculate area using trapezium formula */
    /* Assuming sides 'a' and 'c' are parallel sides */
    area = 0.5 * (a + c) * h;
    
    printf("Perimeter of the trapezium is %.1f<br>", perimeter);
    printf("Area of the trapezium is: %.3f<br>", area);
    
    return 0;
}

The sides of trapezium are 2, 3, 5, 4
Distance between two parallel sides is 5
Perimeter of the trapezium is 14.0
Area of the trapezium is: 17.500

Key Points

• In this example, we assume sides with lengths 2 and 5 are the parallel sides
• The height (perpendicular distance) is 5 units
• Area formula requires identifying which sides are parallel
• Perimeter calculation is straightforward − just sum all four sides

Conclusion

Calculating the area and perimeter of a trapezium involves simple arithmetic operations using standard geometric formulas. The key is correctly identifying the parallel sides for area calculation.