Difference Between Area And Perimeter - Cuemath

Difference Between Area and Perimeter

Area and Perimeter are two important concepts. Sometimes, the term 'Area' is confused with 'Perimeter'. They both are entirely different. The area is defined as the amount of space occupied by any two-dimensional shape. Perimeter defines the boundary or outline of a flat shape. The methods of measuring area and perimeter are completely different. Let us discuss the key differences between these two important terms.

1.	Definition of Area
2.	Definition of Perimeter
3.	What is the Differences Between Area and Perimeter
4.	Area and Perimeter Formula
5.	Solved Examples on Area and Perimeter
6.	Practice Questions on Area and Perimeter
7.	FAQs on Difference Between Area and Perimeter

Definition of Area

Area is defined as the amount of space that is occupied by any shape, object, or flat surface. The total number of square units that can fit into a shape or an object or a flat surface defines the actual area. The concept of finding an area can easily be understood by using a square grid paper. The total number of unit square enclosed in the figure gives the area of that figure. For example, the blue square occupies 9 squares, which means the area of the square is 9 square units. In real life, we use the concept of area to find out the amount of space that is to be painted in a wall, the dimensions of a room, the space in the floor of a room that is to be covered by tiles, making a lawn at the backyard and so on.

Definition of Perimeter

The word 'perimeter' is derived from the Greek word 'Perimetron'. 'Peri' means 'around' and 'Metron' means 'measure'. The perimeter of a shape is calculated by adding up the length of all the sides or by measuring the outer boundary of a shape or an object. Some real-life uses of the perimeter are to know about the size of a photo frame, length of a lawn that for which we need to put a fence. Perimeters of small objects can be found by taking a string or a thread around the object for which perimeter is to be found. In the case of polygons, their perimeter can be found by adding up the sides of the polygon and expressing them in the given units. The figure given below shows the perimeter of a square, which is 20 units.

What is the Difference Between Area and Perimeter?

The following table lists the important differences between area and perimeter.

Area	Perimeter
Area refers to the space occupied by a shape or an object or a surface.	Perimeter refers to the measure of the length of the outline or boundary of a shape, an object or a surface.
Area is measured in square units. For example, if the dimensions are in inches, then the area is expressed as square inches.	Perimeter is measured in linear units. For example, if the dimensions are in inches, then the perimeter is expressed as inches.
Example: Area of a square park is side of the park × side of the park or side2	Example: The perimeter of the square park is the sum of all the 4 sides of the park or 4 × side.

Area and Perimeter Formula

The table given below lists some important formulas for the area and perimeter of some common shapes.

Shape	Area (square units)	Perimeter (units)
Square	side × side	4 × side
Rectangle	length × width	2(length + width)
Circle	2πr	πr2
Equilateral Triangle	side + side + side	(1/2) × base × height
Parallelogram	2 × (sum of two parallel sides)	base × height
Rhombus	4 × side	(1/2) × diagonal 1 × diagonal 2

Topics Related to Area and Perimeter

Check out some interesting articles related to area and perimeter.

• Area of a Square
• Area of Triangle
• Area of Semicircle
• Area of Rhombus
• Perimeter of a Triangle
• Area of a Square Calculator
• Perimeter of a Rectangle Calculator