If the height of the trapezoid is 2, with bases 6 and 10, what is the area?

• A. 8
• B. 16
• C. 20
• D. 24

Answer: (B)

The area of a trapezoid is found by multiplying the height by the average of the two bases. Here, the height is 2 and the bases are 6 and 10. First compute the average of the bases: (6 + 10) / 2 = 8. Then multiply by the height: 8 × 2 = 16. So the area is 16.

If you mix up the steps, you might use just the average of the bases (which would give 8) without multiplying by the height, or use one base times the height (which would give 12 or 20). The correct approach always combines both bases through their average and then scales by the height.