Surveying & Geomatics

Intermediate

Area by Trapezoidal Rule

Area under a boundary by summing trapezoidal strips.

Formula

A = h\left(\frac{y_0 + y_n}{2} + \Sigma y_i\right)

Variables

AArea

hStrip width

y_iOffset ordinates

Example

Offsets averaged and multiplied by strip width give the area

Did You Know?

The trapezoidal rule assumes straight boundaries between offsets — simple but slightly less accurate.

surveying area trapezoidal

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