To find the area of a rectangle given its vertices on the coordinate plane, you can use the distance formula between the coordinates of the vertices.
1. Calculate the length of the base of the rectangle by finding the distance between points (-5, 1) and (-2, 5). Use the distance formula:
\[ \text{Distance} = \sqrt{(x_2 - x_1)^2 + (y_2 - y_1)^2} \]
2. Next, calculate the height of the rectangle by finding the distance between points (-5, 1) and (3, -5). Again, use the distance formula.
3. Once you have the base and height, multiply them to find the area of the rectangle:
\[ \text{Area} = \text{Base} \times \text{Height} \]
4. Substitute the values you calculated into the area formula to find the area of the rectangle in square units.
By following these steps and applying the distance formula correctly, you will be able to determine the area of the rectangle accurately.
