The area of a parallelogram is equal to base times height. Which expression shows this?

The area of a parallelogram is equal to base times height. Which expression shows this?

• A. B x H
• B. L x W
• C. W x H
• D. B x W

Answer: (A)

The area of a parallelogram is found by multiplying its base by its height—the perpendicular distance between the bases. Using the standard base symbol B and height symbol H, the expression that matches this formula is B × H. The height is not just another side length; it’s how far you must drop a perpendicular from one base to the other, so it pairs with the base, not with width or length. Why the other choices don’t fit: L × W would describe a rectangle’s area when L and W are its length and width. W × H would be a width-times-height pair, which isn’t the base-height pairing given here. B × W multiplies base by width, not base by height, so it doesn’t represent the parallelogram’s area.

The area of a parallelogram is found by multiplying its base by its height—the perpendicular distance between the bases. Using the standard base symbol B and height symbol H, the expression that matches this formula is B × H. The height is not just another side length; it’s how far you must drop a perpendicular from one base to the other, so it pairs with the base, not with width or length.

Why the other choices don’t fit: L × W would describe a rectangle’s area when L and W are its length and width. W × H would be a width-times-height pair, which isn’t the base-height pairing given here. B × W multiplies base by width, not base by height, so it doesn’t represent the parallelogram’s area.