13 - What is Surface Area? Definition & Meaning - Calculate Area of Rectangle & Units

More Lessons: http://www.MathAndScience.com Twitter:   / jasongibsonmath   In this lesson, you will learn what area is, why surface area is important, and why do we need to calculate area to solve problems. We measure length in inches, centimeters, and meters. Area is measured in square inches, square centimeters, and square meters. We find the area of an object by determining how many square units fit on the surface. That is why it is called surface area. For rectangles, we can find the surface area by multiplying the length times the width. For circles, the area formula involves Pi and is A = Pi * R^2. There are related equations for area that apply to other common objects such as the area of a square and the area of a cylinder and the area of a triangle. Area is used extensively in Geometry and Calculus.