The square meter It is the basic unit of measurement, it is used to measure surfaces or two-dimensional objects such as a wall, an apartment or a door.
A square meter is an area within a square whose sides are one meter. They are expressed with the symbol “m²” .
Square meters are calculated in different ways depending on the shape of the area you want to know: square, triangle, circle. To do this, it is necessary to know the mathematical formula for calculating the square meters for each geometric figure.
To find the area of an irregular figure, you must divide the figure into other figures such as squares or triangles. Then the square meters of these figures are calculated with the known formulas, they are added and the resulting number is the total area in square meters of the irregular figure.
How to calculate the square meters of different geometric figures?
- Calculate square meters of a square or rectangle
To calculate the square meters of, for example, a square wall, you must take, with a tape measure, its height and width. Then both values are multiplied and the result of the square meters of that area is obtained.
- Calculate square meters of a right triangle
To calculate the square meters of right triangles, you must multiply the measurement you have and then divide that result by two.
For example: in the triangle in the image: multiply 5 x 7 = 35 meters. Then divide that result by two: 35/2 = 17.5 m².
- Calculate square meters of an irregular rectangle
To measure the square meters of irregular rectangles, convert the irregular triangles to regular ones and then measure them.
To do this, a line must be drawn from any corner of the triangle to the opposite side in such a way that the line cuts that side of the triangle at an angle of 90°. Then it is calculated in the same way as right triangles.
- Calculate square meters of a circle
To calculate the square meters of a circle, the circle must be divided into two exactly equal halves. Next, a line must be drawn down the middle forming a right triangle.
You must first calculate the area of the circle. To do this, the radius of the circle is measured and multiplied by two.
For example: Imagining that this radius is equal to 3 centimeters, multiply 3 x 2 = 6. This result is the diameter of the circle. Finally, this number must be multiplied by 3.14 (a number known as pi). Following this example 6 x 3.14 = 18.84 cm².
How to go from square meters to other measures?
- Get the measurement in square feet. This is used to convert other units to square meters and calculate them. Thus, one foot is equal to 0.093 square meters (m²). Then, you have to measure the surface you want to calculate with a tape measure. For example, the width of a wall. Imagining that this wall measures 2.35 m², this value must be multiplied by 0.093 and the result will be in square feet.
- Get the measurement in square yards. To obtain a measurement in square yards, the value obtained must be multiplied by 0.84. In the example above, you would multiply 2.35 x 0.84 and the result is expressed in square yards.
- Get the measure in acres. To do this, the result must be multiplied by 4.05 and the result will be expressed in acres.