An oval is a geometric shape that looks like an elongated circle. Another name for an oval is an 'ellipse'. You might be asked to recognize an oval shape in primary school, secondary school and at university. The area of an oval is the amount of space contained within it. You can calculate the area of an oval by following a simple mathematical equation.
- Tape measurer or ruler
- Calculator
Measure the length of the ellipse from 'A' to 'B' and divide it by 2. This is known as 'semi-major axis' or 'radius 1'.
Measure the width of the oval across its centremost point. The centre point is the middle point between 'A' and 'B'. Once you measure the width of the oval, divide this value by 2. This is known as the 'semi-minor axis' or 'radius 2'.
Multiply half of the width by half of the length. For example, if the length of the oval is 10 cm and the width of 6 cm, you would multiply 5 by 3 to get 15 cm.
Multiply this figure in Step 3 by pi, which is 3.14. Using the previous example, you would multiply 15 by 3.14 to get 47.1 cm², which is the area of the ellipse.
Now you know how to calculate the area of an oval, you may want to know how to calculate the period of a wave.
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