Primary 6 · Area · Question type 9.1

P6 Area: Area of Overlapping Shapes

Adding both shapes counts the overlap twice, so subtract one copy of the overlapping area.

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Primary 6, on the MOE Primary Mathematics syllabus.

In the Area chapter4 question types · see the chapter

The lesson · 3 minutes 24 seconds

How do you find the area of overlapping shapes in P6?

Watch: two 10 cm squares overlapping in a 4 cm square

Another worked example

A worked example

Two identical rectangular posters, each 30 cm by 8 cm, are pinned one above the other on a notice board so that they overlap in a strip 30 cm long. Together the two posters cover 390 cm² of the board. Find the width of the strip where they overlap.

The working · Four lines

The step-by-step working

Written out in full, the way it should appear on paper.

area of one poster = 30 cm × 8 cm = 240 cm²
area of the two posters = 240 + 240 = 480 cm²
area of the overlap = 480 - 390 = 90 cm²
width of the overlap = 90 ÷ 30 = 3 cm

The answer is 3 cm.

Practise · Modelled on top school exam questions

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Identical strips at right angles

Separate the two strips from their shared square before finding the area.

Bala glues two identical rectangular strips of card, each 18 cm by 6 cm, at right angles to make an L-shaped label. The label covers 180 cm² of the notice board. Find the area of the part where the two strips overlap.

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area of one strip = 18 cm × 6 cm = 108 cm²
area of the two strips = 108 + 108 = 216 cm²
area of the overlap = 216 - 180 = 36 cm²

Ans: 36 cm²

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Next, use the area of the rectangle around a triangle. Area of Folded Paper →

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