Area and perimeter are not new concepts. In previous grade levels finding area and perimeter is done separately, you find the area and don't have to do anything else. However, at this grade level it is expected that you understand these concepts well so that you can apply it as a part of some other process. For example to find the surface area of certain shapes you will have to choose the correct side and calculate the area and perimeter of that side.

Area is the space inside of a two dimensional (or flat) shape. There are many ways that a two dimensional shape can be described. For example a circular pool bottom, a rectangular office floor, etc. For such shapes area may be described as the amount of tiles on a floor, the amount of paint needed for a wall. In the above examples we need to figure out the shape and use the right formula. However, sometimes we need to do something else with the answer for our area question so we should read the question more carefully.

Perimeter is the distance around a two dimensional figure. For example the distance around a circular track is an example of perimeter.

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