The area of a rectangle = length × width.

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In this case, 4  ×  2  =  8.   So the area of the rectangle is 8 cm².

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Note: 8 cm² is "8 square centimetres". Area is always measured in square units.

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The index number ² is used to show square units, because an area is a 2-dimensional space.

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The diagram below may help to illustrate that this rectangle has an area of 8 square centimetres. It shows the rectangle divided into 8 squares each of 1 square centimetre.

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The perimeter of any 2D shape is the distance all the way around the shape. The football pitch below has a perimeter of 320m (100m + 100m +60m +60m).

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