What is the area of a trapezoid with bases of 6 cm and 10 cm, and a height of 4 cm?

To find the area of a trapezoid, you use the formula:

Area = ( \frac{1}{2} \times (b_1 + b_2) \times h )

where ( b_1 ) and ( b_2 ) are the lengths of the two bases, and ( h ) is the height of the trapezoid.

In this case, the bases are given as 6 cm and 10 cm, and the height is 4 cm. Plugging these values into the formula:

1. Calculate the sum of the bases: ( b_1 + b_2 = 6 , \text{cm} + 10 , \text{cm} = 16 , \text{cm} )

2. Multiply this sum by the height: ( 16 , \text{cm} \times 4 , \text{cm} = 64 , \text{cm}^2 )

3. Finally, take half of that product to find the area: ( \frac{1}{2} \times 64 , \text{cm}^2 = 32 , \text{cm