A garden, a rug, a picture frame — the shape is described in words and never drawn. These free printable word problems ask for perimeter and area from a sentence, which is what a real measuring job looks like.
Taking the drawing away changes the question. With a rectangle on the page a child can count or measure; with only "a rug 4 meters by 11 meters" they have to build the picture themselves and then decide whether the question wants the edge or the inside. Sketching it before calculating is the habit this sheet exists to build.
Why this sheet works
Perimeter and area are asked on the same page on purpose, because telling them apart is the actual difficulty. The words give it away every time — fencing, edging and framing are perimeter, carpeting, painting and covering are area — and reading for those words is a more reliable method than remembering two formulas.
How this one works
One question from this sheet, worked through a step at a time.
First find the perimeter, then the area.
Priya's bulletin board is a rectangle 2 meters long and 3 meters wide.
2 × (2 + 3) = 10 meters
2 × 3 = 6 square meters
asked:First find the perimeter, then the area.
2 × (2 + 3) = 10 meters
2 × 3 = 6 square meters
Read it through once. This question asks for TWO different measurements, and doing one and stopping is the usual slip — so work out both before answering.
They are not the same sum. 2 × (2 + 3) = 10 meters. Then, separately, 2 × 3 = 6 square meters.
So "First find the perimeter, then the area." needs both answers, each with its own unit — a bare number, or only one of the two, does not answer what was asked.
1Priya stayed behind to help after class.Priya's bulletin board is a rectangle 2 meters long and 3 meters wide.(a)What is the distance all the way around it, in meters? (b)How many square meters does it cover?
2Priya's lawn is a square 11 meters on each side.(a)What is the distance all the way around it, in meters? (b)How many square meters does it cover?
3Suki was doing the morning rounds at the shelter.The classroom floor at Suki's school is a rectangle 8 meters long and 9 meters wide.What is the distance all the way around it, in meters?
4The same classroom floor is 8 meters long and 9 meters wide.How many square meters does it cover?
