Pass Functional Skills logo

Area and perimeter

Area and perimeter for GCSE Art and Design OCR Foundation: what it means, how to set the working out, and the questions it is asked in.
  • GCSE
  • OCR
  • Art and Design
  • Foundation
  • Spec G4 · G15 · G19
  • 12 min read
  • 9 revision boxes

Introduction

2 boxes
2 min read

What is area and perimeter?

Listen to this box

Transcript

A short spoken summary of area and perimeter and where it is used.

A spoken walk-through of area and perimeter before you read the notes.
This idea appears again in the higher-mark questions, so it is worth over-learning.
The layout below is the one the mark scheme expects.

Diagram showing area and perimeter laid out step by step

The same idea drawn out, so the method is visible.
Worth knowing: ×10\times 10 moves every digit one column left.
6 rows

The area and perimeter reference table

The examiner marks the working, so a correct answer with no method still drops marks.
Worth knowing: a2+b2=c2a^2 + b^2 = c^2.
Term
Meaning
Example
Common slip
Marks
Row 1 column 1
Row 1 column 2
≈160\approx 160
Row 1 column 4
Row 1 column 5
Row 2 column 1
Row 2 column 2
49=7\sqrt{49} = 7
Row 2 column 4
Row 2 column 5

Learning

5 boxes
5 steps

How to work with area and perimeter

Practise the routine version until it is automatic, then move to the multi-step questions.
Worth knowing: 49=7\sqrt{49} = 7.
  1. Read the question and write down what is being asked for.
  2. Set out the working for area and perimeter in the order the method gives.
  3. Substitute the values and simplify.
  4. Check the answer against an estimate before writing it down.
Start from the definition and substitute the numbers the question gives you.
Simplify one line at a time: 49=7\sqrt{49} = 7.
Answer: 34×25\frac{3}{4} \times \frac{2}{5}
2 rules

Key facts: Area and perimeter

Sketch the shape even when the question does not ask for one — it makes the next step obvious.
Worth knowing: a2+b2=c2a^2 + b^2 = c^2.

  • Rule 1

    How area and perimeter behaves in the 1st of the cases the specification names.
    a2+b2=c2a^2 + b^2 = c^2

  • Rule 2

    How area and perimeter behaves in the 2nd of the cases the specification names.
    ×10\times 10 moves every digit one column left
4 steps

How to work with area and perimeter

This idea appears again in the higher-mark questions, so it is worth over-learning.
The layout below is the one the mark scheme expects.

Diagram showing area and perimeter laid out step by step

The same idea drawn out, so the method is visible.
Worth knowing: 49=7\sqrt{49} = 7.
  1. Read the question and write down what is being asked for.
  2. Set out the working for area and perimeter in the order the method gives.
  3. Substitute the values and simplify.
Start from the definition and substitute the numbers the question gives you.
Simplify one line at a time: 34×25\frac{3}{4} \times \frac{2}{5}.
Answer: 34×25\frac{3}{4} \times \frac{2}{5}
3 rules

Key facts: Area and perimeter

The examiner marks the working, so a correct answer with no method still drops marks.
The layout below is the one the mark scheme expects.

Diagram showing area and perimeter laid out step by step

The same idea drawn out, so the method is visible.

  • Rule 1

    How area and perimeter behaves in the 1st of the cases the specification names.
    ×10\times 10 moves every digit one column left

  • Rule 2

    How area and perimeter behaves in the 2nd of the cases the specification names.
    ×10\times 10 moves every digit one column left

  • Rule 3

    How area and perimeter behaves in the 3rd of the cases the specification names.
    49=7\sqrt{49} = 7
5 steps

How to work with area and perimeter

Practise the routine version until it is automatic, then move to the multi-step questions.
  1. Read the question and write down what is being asked for.
  2. Set out the working for area and perimeter in the order the method gives.
  3. Substitute the values and simplify.
  4. Check the answer against an estimate before writing it down.
Start from the definition and substitute the numbers the question gives you.
Simplify one line at a time: 34×25\frac{3}{4} \times \frac{2}{5}.
Answer: ×10\times 10 moves every digit one column left

20 minutes

Get your predicted grade

Twenty questions gives you a predicted grade, your target, and the gap between them — plus the topics that close it fastest.
Get my predicted grade

Examples

2 boxes
3 marks · worked

Worked example: area and perimeter

Work through the method one line at a time and write down what changes at each step.
Worth knowing: a2+b2=c2a^2 + b^2 = c^2.
2 marks · worked

Practice question 9: a2+b2=c2a^2 + b^2 = c^2

This idea appears again in the higher-mark questions, so it is worth over-learning.
Worth knowing: ≈160\approx 160.

Practice bank

Thousands of revision questions

Every topic is backed by graded practice with instant marking and full solutions.
Try it now
Practice questions
4,000+
Topics
10
Marking and solutions
Instant

Common questions

How many marks is area and perimeter usually worth?
Between one and four, depending on how many steps the question asks for.
Is this on the GCSE Art and Design OCR Foundation paper?
Yes — it sits in the Causes and consequences strand.