Lesson 18: Perimeter - 1

For Grade 5 Students (Ages 10-11) - Let's learn to measure the boundary of shapes!

What we will learn today:

In this lesson, you will learn to:

  • Understand what perimeter is.
  • Calculate the perimeter of squares.
  • Calculate the perimeter of rectangles.
  • Solve simple word problems involving perimeter.

Introduction to Perimeter

Hello, young mathematicians! In our previous lesson, we learned about different shapes. Today, we're going to learn about **perimeter**.

Imagine you have a garden and you want to put a fence around it. The length of that fence would be the **perimeter** of your garden!

The **perimeter** of a shape is the total distance around its outside edge. To find the perimeter, we add up the lengths of all its sides.

Perimeter of a Square

A square has four equal sides. So, to find its perimeter, you can add all four sides, or simply multiply the length of one side by $4$.

Formula: Perimeter of a Square = $4 \times \text{side}$

Example 1: Find the perimeter of a square with a side of $5$ cm.

5 cm 5 cm 5 cm 5 cm

Perimeter = $5$ cm + $5$ cm + $5$ cm + $5$ cm = $20$ cm
OR
Perimeter = $4 \times 5$ cm = $20$ cm

Exercise 1: Find the perimeter of the following squares.

Side = $7$ cm. Perimeter = $\underline{\hspace{2cm}}$ cm

Side = $12$ m. Perimeter = $\underline{\hspace{2cm}}$ m

Perimeter of a Rectangle

A rectangle has four sides, but opposite sides are equal in length. It has a **length** and a **width**. To find its perimeter, you add up all four sides, or use the formula: $2 \times (\text{length} + \text{width})$.

Formula: Perimeter of a Rectangle = $2 \times (\text{length} + \text{width})$

Example 2: Find the perimeter of a rectangle with length $8$ cm and width $3$ cm.

8 cm 8 cm 3 cm 3 cm

Perimeter = $8$ cm + $3$ cm + $8$ cm + $3$ cm = $22$ cm
OR
Perimeter = $2 \times (8 + 3)$ cm = $2 \times 11$ cm = $22$ cm

Exercise 2: Find the perimeter of the following rectangles.

Length = $10$ cm, Width = $4$ cm. Perimeter = $\underline{\hspace{2cm}}$ cm

Length = $15$ m, Width = $5$ m. Perimeter = $\underline{\hspace{2cm}}$ m

Problem Solving with Perimeter

Let's apply what we've learned to solve some real-life problems involving perimeter.

Exercise 3: Solve the following word problems.

  1. A square playground has a side length of $20$ meters. What is the perimeter of the playground?

  2. A rectangular table has a length of $120$ cm and a width of $60$ cm. What is the perimeter of the table?

  3. A farmer wants to fence a rectangular field that is $50$ meters long and $30$ meters wide. How much fencing material does he need?

Answers to Practice Time

Let's check your answers!

  1. Exercise 1: Perimeter of Squares

    • Side = $7$ cm. Perimeter = $4 \times 7 = 28$ cm
    • Side = $12$ m. Perimeter = $4 \times 12 = 48$ m
  2. Exercise 2: Perimeter of Rectangles

    • Length = $10$ cm, Width = $4$ cm. Perimeter = $2 \times (10 + 4) = 2 \times 14 = 28$ cm
    • Length = $15$ m, Width = $5$ m. Perimeter = $2 \times (15 + 5) = 2 \times 20 = 40$ m
  3. Exercise 3: Problem Solving with Perimeter

    • Perimeter = $4 \times 20 = 80$ meters.
    • Perimeter = $2 \times (120 + 60) = 2 \times 180 = 360$ cm.
    • Fencing needed = Perimeter = $2 \times (50 + 30) = 2 \times 80 = 160$ meters.

You've completed Lesson 18!

Excellent work, Math Lanka students! You've learned about perimeter and how to calculate it for squares and rectangles. This is a very practical skill for many real-life situations!

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