Area vs Perimeter: Difference and Comparison

Area and Perimeter are two of the fundamental concepts in mathematics. Both concepts measure the physical space occupied by objects and their measurements.

Key Takeaways

1. The area measures the total surface within a two-dimensional shape; the perimeter calculates the length of the shape’s outer boundaries.
2. The area is expressed in square units (e.g., square inches, square meters); the perimeter is expressed in linear units (e.g., inches, meters).
3. Different formulas calculate the area and perimeter of various shapes, such as rectangles, triangles, and circles.

Area vs Perimeter

Area refers to the measurement of the size of a two-dimensional surface or shape and is expressed in square units, such as square meters or square inches. Perimeter is the total length of the boundary that encloses a two-dimensional shape and is the distance around the outside of a closed figure.

The area is defined as the space occupied by a flat two-dimensional object. At the same time, the perimeter of an object is the total length of its sides or boundaries.

The area is always measured by the number of square units that fit into a particular shape or object and hence is measured in square units. In contrast, the perimeter measures length in units like feet, inches, meters, etc.

---

 

Comparison Table

Parameter of Comparison	Area	Perimeter
Definition	The area is the space a two-dimensional object or shape covers or occupies.	The perimeter of a closed object is the distance around it.
Dimensions	The area is used to find the space taken by two-dimensional objects.	Perimeter is used to find the sides of a- dimensional object or shape.
How to find	It is found by measuring the number of squares that fit into that particular shape or figure.	It is found by adding the length of all sides of a closed figure.
Unit of measurement	The unit of measurement for the area is in square units. For example cm2, m2, km2, etc.	The unit of measurement for the perimeter of an object is in the standard or linear unit of length—for example, a+b+c or the sum of all sides of the thing.
Indication	The area indicates the space covered by a figure.	Perimeter indicates the boundary or rim of the particular object.

---

 

What is Area?

In geometry, area refers to the space covered or occupied by any flat shape or object. The word ‘area’ is derived from the Latin word ‘area’, which means any vacant piece of ground.

The area also means the space that can be held within closed boundaries. Usually, the site is found for two-dimensional figures like squares and rectangles.

While there are not only two- dimensional but also three-dimensional figures whose area needs to be found out.

The area of these three-dimensional figures is called Surface Area. Many statistics aren’t as simple as a square, rectangle, or triangle; in these cases, the area of these composite figures is found by adding the areas of the simple statistics that form these composite ones.

The standard unit of area in the International System of units is square meters, written as m², where m is the length of one side of the object. Areas of simple figures like circles, squares, or triangles can be found using well-known standard formulas.

While for polygons, the area can be found by dividing them into respective triangles and then adding the locations of all of them. Algebraically.

The area is considered to be the square of the corresponding unit of length and hence could be in square meters (m2), square centimetres (cm²), square millimetres (mm2), square kilometres (km²), square yards (yd²) or even square miles (mm²).

Some of the basic formulas used to find area are as follows:

1. Square: a ²
2. Rectangle: ab
3. Parallelogram: bh
4. Trapezoid: h/2 (b₁ + b₂)
5. Circle: πr²
6. Triangle: ½ bh

In real life, the area can be calculated to determine how much carpet will be used to cover the floor or how much space is painted on a curtain wall.

 

What is Perimeter?

The distance around a particular shape is known as its perimeter. It is the length of the boundary of any form or one-dimensional or even two- dimensional object.

The word finds its derivative from the Greek words ‘peri’, which means around, and ‘metron’, meaning measure. It is calculated by adding the lengths of all sides of the closed figure.

The term used to indicate the boundaries of a figure is known as its perimeter, while in the case of a circle, it is known as its circumference.

In the customary units of measurement, the perimeter of the total length is measured by these standard units like an inch, yards, foot, or miles. While in the metric system of measurement, the length units could be millimetres, centimetres, meters, and kilometres.

Some of the basic formulas used to find area are as follows:

1. Square: 4a
2. Rectangle: 2(length + width)
3. Parallelogram: 2(base + height)
4. Triangle: a + b + c
5. Trapezoid: a + b + c + d
6. Kite: 2a + 2b
7. Hexagon: 6a

In real life, the perimeter is calculated to find the length of the fenced boundary or the required ribbon size.

---

Main Differences Between Area and Perimeter

1. Area refers to the space covered or occupied by an object, while Perimeter refers to the length of the boundary of the same thing.
2. The main difference between Area and Perimeter is that area measures two dimensions of an object, i.e. Length and Width, while Perimeter measures only one size, i.e. the object’s length.
3. The measuring unit for Area is in square meters, while the teams used for measuring perimeter are typical for lengths.
4. In simpler terms, the area can be described as a concept that deals with the inside of a figure, while the Perimeter is concerned with the borders or outside of a bust.
5. The area might be needed to be found out how much area needs to be carpeted on a floor, while the perimeter is required when you need to know how much length of wire you require to fence your field.

References

1. https://www.splashlearn.com/math-vocabulary/geometry/perimeter
2. https://www.splashlearn.com/math-vocabulary/geometry/area