Area of a Compound Shape by Splitting into Rectangles

A compound shape is often just several familiar shapes joined together. Suppose an L-shape can be split into a 9 m by 4 m rectangle and a 3 m by 2 m rectangle.

Area = 9 × 4 + 3 × 2 = 36 + 6 = 42 m²

Another route

You can sometimes find the area of a large outer rectangle and subtract the missing corner. Use whichever picture is clearer.

Unit check: area answers need square units. If your answer ends in metres, not m², stop and check.

Useful next step: cover the worked answer and try the same method on a similar question before moving on.