Robinson Tuition
Grade 2 · Foundation · free GCSE maths worksheet

Perimeter of rectangles and compound shapes

Adding up all the sides.

15 original questions, 34 marks. Print the worksheet, mark it with the answers sheet, and use the solutions to see every step written out by hand.

Worksheet PDFWorked solutions PDFAnswers PDF

The questions

1

A rectangle has length 9 cm and width 4 cm.

  1. Work out the area of the rectangle.
  2. Work out the perimeter of the rectangle.
2 marks
Show answer
a) 36 cm2 b) 26 cm
2

A rectangle has corners at the points (2, 1), (9, 1), (9, 3) and (2, 3). Each unit on the grid is 1 cm.

Work out the perimeter of the rectangle.

2 marks
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18 cm
3

The rectangle is drawn on a grid of centimetre squares.

Work out the perimeter of the rectangle.

2 marks
Show answer
16 cm
4

Mia says, "A rectangle 7 cm by 5 cm has a perimeter of 35 cm."

Explain the mistake Mia has made and work out the correct perimeter.

2 marks
Show answer
She multiplied (7 x 5 = 35, which is the area). The perimeter is 7 + 5 + 7 + 5 = 24 cm.
5

An L-shape has six straight sides. Going round the shape, the sides are 10 cm, 4 cm, 4 cm, 3 cm, 6 cm and 7 cm.

Work out the perimeter of the L-shape.

2 marks
Show answer
34 cm
6

Ben wants to work out the perimeter of a square with sides of length 6 cm.

Ben writes:

perimeter = 6 × 6 = 36 cm

Explain the mistake Ben has made.

2 marks
Show answer
6 x 6 gives the area of the square, not the perimeter. The perimeter is 4 x 6 = 24 cm.
7

The L-shape is drawn on a grid of centimetre squares.

Work out the perimeter of the L-shape.

2 marks
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18 cm
8

Two identical rectangles, each 6 cm by 3 cm, are joined along their 3 cm sides to make one larger rectangle.

Work out the perimeter of the larger rectangle.

2 marks
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30 cm
9

A rectangle has a perimeter of 38 cm. Its length is 12 cm.

Work out the width of the rectangle.

2 marks
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7 cm
10

A square and an equilateral triangle have the same perimeter. The square has sides of length 9 cm.

Work out the length of each side of the triangle.

2 marks
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12 cm
11

Three identical squares, each with sides of length 4 cm, are joined edge to edge to make an L-shape.

Work out the perimeter of the L-shape.

2 marks
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32 cm
12

An L-shape is made by removing a rectangle 3 cm by 2 cm from one corner of a rectangle 8 cm by 6 cm.

Work out the perimeter of the L-shape.

8 cm3 cm2 cm6 cmDiagram NOT accurately drawn
3 marks
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28 cm
13

A rectangle is 12 cm by 8 cm. A square of side 3 cm is cut out of one corner.

Work out the perimeter of the new shape. Explain your answer.

2 marks
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40 cm (the same as the original rectangle)
14

A rectangle is made from three identical squares placed side by side in a row.

The perimeter of the rectangle is 48 cm.

Work out the area of the rectangle.

3 marks
Show answer
108 cm²
15

Rectangle A has length 12 cm and width 5 cm.

Rectangle B has width 4 cm. The perimeter of rectangle B is equal to the perimeter of rectangle A.

Work out the area of rectangle B.

4 marks
Show answer
52 cm²

Every question here is original and written by Robinson Tuition. The grade follows the Edexcel grade descriptors and suits AQA and OCR too; this is not an exam-board paper.

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