Thread: Calculate areas with an excel spreadsheet

If the area in question is a field or garden, it might be possible to work out its area without leaving your computer. Just download Google Earth, install it and use its 'Fly' option to view the chosen location Gust tap in your postcode. Once the area is displayed on-screen, click Tools, Ruler and select the Path tab. Click around the perimeter of the area until its shape is defined. On each click, the length of the current section is displayed on-screen. Make a note of each figure.

With the perimeter of the area defined, click on the Line tab in Google Earth's Ruler box, then split the defmed area into triangles by using the red squares around the perimeter as nodes for the triangles. The length of each side of every triangle is displayed as it is drawn and the choice of units is up to you - anything from centimetres to miles. Jot down the lengths of these sides as you measure them. It may be advantageous to print the map to make this easier.



For internal measurements and AND in situations where Google Earth shows insufficient detail, draw a rough plan of the area and split it into triangles, then measure the actual physical dimensions of each triangle using a tape or laser measure and transfer them to the plan. Once the measurements have been made, start Excel.

The formatting of the headers is up to you, or you can leave them as they are. Once they're in place, use the computer-generated or hand-drawn plan to fill in the lengths of all three sides of each triangle: one triangle to each row of the worksheet. For simple shapes, there might be only two or three triangles, but complicated shapes could require many more. At this stage, it would be advantageous to label the triangles with letters of the alphabet, both on the plan and on the worksheet, to make them easier to track.