Download Article
Download Article
An ellipse is a two-dimensional shape that you might've discussed in geometry class that looks like a flat, elongated circle. [1] X Research source Calculating the area of an ellipse is easy when you know the measurements of the major radius and minor radius.
Steps
-
Find the major radius of the ellipse. This is the distance from the center of the ellipse to the farthest edge of the ellipse. [2] X Expert Source David Jia
Academic Tutor Expert Interview. 23 February 2021 Think of this as the radius of the "fat" part of the ellipse. Measure it or find it labeled in your diagram. We'll call this value a .- You can call this the "semi-major axis" instead. [3] X Research source
-
Find the minor radius. As you might have guessed, the minor radius measures the distance from the center to the closest point on the edge. [4] X Expert Source David Jia
Academic Tutor Expert Interview. 23 February 2021 [5] X Research source Call this measurement b .- This is at a 90º right angle to the major radius, but you don't need to measure any angles to solve this problem.
- You can call this the "semi-minor axis."
Advertisement -
Multiply by pi. The area of the ellipse is a x b x π. [6] X Expert Source David Jia
Academic Tutor Expert Interview. 23 February 2021 Since you're multiplying two units of length together, your answer will be in units squared. [7] X Research source- For example, if an ellipse has a major radius of 5 units and a minor radius of 3 units, the area of the ellipse is 3 x 5 x π, or about 47 square units.
- If you don't have a calculator, or if your calculator doesn't have a π symbol, use "3.14" instead.
Advertisement
-
Think of the area of a circle. You might remember that the area of a circle equals π r 2 , which is the same as π x r x r . What if we tried to find the area of a circle as though it were an ellipse? We would measure the radius in one direction: r . Measure it at right angles: also r . Plug it into the ellipse area formula: π x r x r! As it turns out, a circle is just a specific type of ellipse. [8] X Research source -
Picture a circle being squashed. Imagine a circle being squeezed into an ellipse shape. As it's squeezed more and more, one radius gets shorter and the other gets longer. [9] X Research source The area stays the same, since nothing's leaving the circle. As long as we use both radii in our equation, the "squashing" and the "flattening" will cancel each other out, and we'll still have the right answer.
Advertisement
Calculator, Practice Problems, and Answers
Expert Q&A
Search
-
QuestionHow do I find A and B of an ellipse?David Jia is an Academic Tutor and the Founder of LA Math Tutoring, a private tutoring company based in Los Angeles, California. With over 10 years of teaching experience, David works with students of all ages and grades in various subjects, as well as college admissions counseling and test preparation for the SAT, ACT, ISEE, and more. After attaining a perfect 800 math score and a 690 English score on the SAT, David was awarded the Dickinson Scholarship from the University of Miami, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. Additionally, David has worked as an instructor for online videos for textbook companies such as Larson Texts, Big Ideas Learning, and Big Ideas Math.To find A, measure from the center of the ellipse to the longest edge. For B, find the length from the center to the shortest edge.
-
QuestionHow do I calculate a half ellipse area?Community AnswerSince we know the area of an ellipse is πab, area of half the ellipse will be (πab)/2
-
QuestionWhat is a 3-dimensional ellipse called?Community AnswerA 3-dimensional ellipse is called an "ellipsoid."
Ask a Question
200 characters left
Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.
Submit
Advertisement
Video
Tips
- If you want a rigorous proof, you'll need to learn how to integrate , a calculus operation. [10] X Research sourceThanks
Submit a Tip
All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published
Name
Please provide your name and last initial
Thanks for submitting a tip for review!
Advertisement
References
- ↑ https://www.cuemath.com/geometry/ellipse/
- ↑ David Jia. Academic Tutor. Expert Interview. 23 February 2021
- ↑ http://www.mathopenref.com/ellipsesemiaxes.html
- ↑ David Jia. Academic Tutor. Expert Interview. 23 February 2021
- ↑ https://sciencing.com/calculate-area-oval-4760748.html
- ↑ David Jia. Academic Tutor. Expert Interview. 23 February 2021
- ↑ https://sciencing.com/calculate-area-oval-4760748.html
- ↑ http://www.mathopenref.com/coordgeneralellipse.html
- ↑ https://sciencing.com/radius-ellipse-7876699.html
About This Article
Article Summary
X
Start by writing down the measurement of the major radius, which is the distance from the center of the shape to the farthest side. Then, write down the measurement of the minor radius, which is the distance from the center point to the shortest edge. Next, multiply these two numbers by each other, and multiply that number by pi (π) to get the area. For a more detailed explanation of how this equation works, scroll down!
Did this summary help you?
Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 514,712 times.
Reader Success Stories
- "This article make geometry easy to learn and understand. I am able to teach myself, and concerns over learning the different equations are fading away. However, attention must be paid to whether one is solving a two- or three-dimensional figure." ..." more
Advertisement
89%
of readers found this article helpful
.
Click a star to add your vote
% of people told us that this article helped them.
"This article make geometry easy to learn and understand. I am able to teach myself, and concerns over learning the different equations are fading away. However, attention must be paid to whether one is solving a two- or three-dimensional figure."
..."
more
"Now I finally know how to calculate the area of an oval. Thank you so much. Been wanting to know since 2nd grade, and I didn't realize it was so easy."
..."
more
"I really needed last minute help on a math assignment and this really helped. Thank God I found this article. "
"The lessons of plane geometry from high are so useful once we are reminded of them. This makes it so simple."
"Helped me to understand how to calculate the elliptical distribution of lift force for my soaring simulator!"
