A rectangle has length 12 cm and width 5 cm. What is its area in square centimeters?

Check the final answer first, then review the worked steps.

Problem

A rectangle has length 12 cm and width 5 cm. What is its area in square centimeters?

Answer

\(60 \text{ cm}^{2}\)

Step-by-step solution

  1. Identify the given values: The problem states that the rectangle has a length of $l = 12 \text{ cm}$ and a width of $w = 5 \text{ cm}$.
  1. Recall the formula for the area of a rectangle: The area $A$ of a rectangle is calculated by multiplying its length by its width: $$A = l \times w$$
  1. Substitute the values into the formula: Substitute $12$ for $l$ and $5$ for $w$: $$A = 12 \text{ cm} \times 5 \text{ cm}$$
  1. Calculate the result: Multiply the numbers to find the area: $$A = 60 \text{ cm}^{2}$$
  1. Conclusion: The area of the rectangle is $60 \text{ square centimeters}$.