What is the formula for the area of a parallelogram?

• A. A = height * side
• B. A = base * height / 2
• C. A = base + height
• D. A = base * height

Answer: (D)

Area is found by multiplying the base by the height. The base is any side you choose to serve as the starting length, and the height is the perpendicular distance between the two bases. If you imagine cutting and sliding the sides, a parallelogram can be rearranged into a rectangle with the same base and height, so the area stays the same and equals base × height. Using height with a non-base side isn’t generally correct because that side isn’t the distance between the parallel lines. The formula base × height / 2 belongs to triangles, not parallelograms, and base plus height has no direct area meaning.