CBSE Class 8 · Mathematics
Area
Official NCERT chapter from Ganita Prakash Part II (book code hegp2). ExamMaster notes are original teaching at CBSE Class 8 depth.
This lesson follows the official chapter “Area” in Ganita Prakash Part II. The words below are ExamMaster’s teaching, not a paste from the book. Use the NCERT chapter for the classroom sequence; use these notes to hold the idea without copying exercises or figures.
- CBSE Class 8
- Easy level
- 8 concepts
1Rectangle and Squares
A rectangle’s area is length × breadth in square units. A square is the special case side × side. Count the unit squares if the grid is there; the product is that count.
Adding length and breadth is the perimeter steal.
Figure. Same unit tile on both shapes. The 3-by-2 rectangle holds 6 tiles; the 2-by-2 square holds 4. The square is a rectangle whose sides match. Tile size is to scale across the two shapes.
How it works
- Write l and bThe sides.
- Multiplyl × b square units.
- For a square, side × sideThe special case.
A 7-by-4 rectangle
A rectangle is 7 cm by 4 cm. Find its area and its perimeter.
- Area7×4=28 cm²
- Perimeter2(7+4)=22 cm
- Different unitscover vs walk
Pro tip. Area tiles the inside; perimeter walks the rim.
2Mark what is given on the figure
Mark what is given on the figure: ticks, lengths, a right-box, a height to a base. A length you were not given is not yours to invent. The figure is a record, not a decoration.
A drawing that “looks 5 cm” is not a given 5.
Figure. Before any formula, write the lengths you were given on the figure. This rectangle is 9 by 4 to scale. Walk around is 2(9+4)=26; tiles inside are 9×4=36. Do not swap those two asks.
How it works
- Copy every marked length onto your sketchThe given.
- Leave unmarked sides unnamedNot yours.
- Then choose a formula those marks supportGiven first.
3A definition is a test, not a picture
Area is a test: a count of unit squares (or a taught product that equals that count). A picture of a field is not the area until you have units and a count.
A green shading is not 28 cm².
Figure. The chunky 5-by-3 looks bigger on the page but holds 15 unit tiles. The long 8-by-2 holds 16. Drawn areas are in the 16:15 ratio of those counts. Area is a count, not a glance.
How it works
- Name the unit square1 cm², or 1 square on the grid.
- Count or compute the productThe test.
- Write the unitMute without it.
4Equal marks must be earned
Equal marks must be earned: two ticks mean those sides were given equal. You may not add ticks because the figure looks even. Unearned marks are lies.
A freehand “almost square” is not four ticks.
Figure. Equal-side marks are earned by measuring, not by a glance. The left shape is a true square (sides match after the aspect stretch) and carries a tick on each side. The right block is wider than it is tall and has no ticks yet.
How it works
- Use only marks that are drawn or statedEarned.
- If you need an equal side, it must be given or provedNot a look.
- Refuse extra ticksHonest figure.
5Perimeter is the walk around
Perimeter is the walk around: add the outer sides. A 7-by-4 rectangle walks 7+4+7+4 = 22. Do not multiply for a perimeter.
7 × 4 as a “walk” is the area steal.
Figure. Perimeter is the walk around: 6+4+6+4=20. Area would be 6×4=24 tiles. Same rectangle, two different asks. The 6-by-4 shape is drawn 3:2. Do not feed the walk into the area formula.
How it works
- List the outer sidesThe walk.
- Add themThe perimeter.
- Keep the length-unit, not the square-unitA walk, not a cover.
6Area is the tiles inside
Area is the tiles inside. Gaps and overlaps are not allowed in the count. A triangle on a grid is half a rectangle when that is the taught move — name the half.
Counting only the full squares and ignoring half-squares is an undercount if the lesson used them.
Figure. Area is the tiles that fill the inside. A 4-by-3 grid of equal unit squares holds 12 tiles. One unit is filled so the tile is visible. The walk around would be 14 — a different number, a different ask.
How it works
- See the insideThe tiles.
- Count full units and taught halvesThe cover.
- Write square unitsArea.
7A formula names a count of units
A formula is a named count: A = l × b is “how many unit squares”. If you cannot say what is being counted, the formula is a chant.
Memorising A = l × b with no unit square is a sticker.
Figure. The formula A = l × b is a count of unit tiles: 5 along the length and 3 along the breadth makes 15. The 5-by-3 rectangle is drawn to that ratio. The formula does not invent a new kind of number — it names the tile count.
How it works
- Name the unit1 cm².
- See the product as rows × columns (or length × breadth)The count.
- Then the formula has a jobNot a chant.
8Parallel lines never meet and stay equally far
Parallel sides in a rectangle stay equally far and never meet. That is why opposite sides match and why the unit-square rows are even. A pair that meets is not this rectangle’s pair.
Rails in a photo that look like they meet are an illusion, not a rectangle-test.
Figure. Parallel lines stay the same distance apart and do not meet. The two upright brackets are the same span d. The slanted dashed line is a transversal: it meets both, which is allowed. The parallels themselves never meet.
How it works
- Check opposite sides equal (given or constructed)The pair.
- Check they do not meet and the distance staysParallel as used here.
- Then l × b is legal for that rectangleThe figure earned the formula.
A 7 cm by 4 cm rectangle has area
- 28 cm²
- 22 cm²
- 11 cm²
l × b is the tile-count; 22 is the walk.
Notes
- The official chapter title is “Area”. Teach the school test for that title, not a contest shortcut.
- If a step needs a later class, stop. The next official chapter will pick it up.
Formulas
- rectangle area = l × b
- square area = a × a
- rectangle perimeter = 2(l + b)
Recap
Hold these pegs from the official chapter “Area”. The wording is ExamMaster’s teaching, not a textbook recap.
- Rectangle and Squares
- A rectangle’s area is length × breadth in square units.
- Mark what is given on the figure
- Mark what is given on the figure: ticks, lengths, a right-box, a height to a base.
- A definition is a test, not a picture
- Area is a test: a count of unit squares (or a taught product that equals that count).
- Equal marks must be earned
- Equal marks must be earned: two ticks mean those sides were given equal.
- Perimeter is the walk around
- Perimeter is the walk around: add the outer sides.
- Area is the tiles inside
- Area is the tiles inside. Gaps and overlaps are not allowed in the count. A triangle on a grid is half a rectangle when that is the taught move — name the half.
Practise Area
Reading is free and needs no account. Practice, mocks and progress live in the app.
- A 4-question practice set that ends the chapter
- 1 quick check with worked explanations
- Timed mocks scored with the real marking scheme
- Readiness tracked per topic, kept on your device