formula to measure acre, when all 4 sides are different size

Hi,I hope someone can help me.I am trying to figure out how to measure a odd parcel of land all 4 sides are different dimensions.

Here are the dimensions.

238' 224' 179' 241'.

I am trying to sell the property and there seems to be conflict with the size?

Please help
Thanks

[Robert Fogt]

That is an irregular polygon and you cant calculate the area with the given information.

You will also need to know the length of one of the diagonals. That will enable us to split the odd shape into two triangles which we can then calculate the areas of.

Wouldn't you just take the average of the sides and the average of the front and back then multiply?

[Robert Fogt]

No that would be terrible inaccurate.

Take for example a perfect square that is 1 foot wide by 1 foot long. It has an area of 1 square foot. Taking that same square and push the top towards the right making it a parallelogram that is now 1/2 as tall. The sides are still 1 foot by 1 foot, but the area is now only 0.5 square foot.

It's similar to shapes with all sides unequal. Imagine each side being a stick of a certain length, these sticks connected on the ends by rope. You can move the sticks around making different shapes with different areas, but the length of the sticks never change.

So an irregular polygon could have an infinite number of possible areas.

I think Fogt is correct in his explanation. But I believe if you actually can plot the four corners of the land area going by the deed description on paper you can calculate the area in question by subtracting the two irregular triangles remaining from the total area of the square area of the longest leg of your example (241x241/43560=1.33a) The trick is knowing the correct angles of the two irregular triangles. I hope this is not confusing and may be totally incorrect but I am just trying to respond.

"Unregistered" is correct: you need to know the exact angles, as from the deed description. A property with more than 4 sides needs to be calculated by dividing the shape into squares or rectangles, and triangles, and then figuring the total area of each part then adding them all up. (OR maybe some calculus formula will do it) Our local courthouse Mapping Dept. has some program on their computer that does the math from the property description. MY problem was that the two ends of the property line didn't meet, and slight adjustments had to be made in the numbers so that the two ends would meet (in the computer) and then it could do the math.

Originally Posted by promark

Hi,I hope someone can help me.I am trying to figure out how to measure a odd parcel of land all 4 sides are different dimensions.

Here are the dimensions.

238' 224' 179' 241'.

I am trying to sell the property and there seems to be conflict with the size?

Please help
Thanks

= 1.0564 Acres

Originally Posted by promark

Hi,I hope someone can help me.I am trying to figure out how to measure a odd parcel of land all 4 sides are different dimensions.

Here are the dimensions.

238' 224' 179' 241'.

I am trying to sell the property and there seems to be conflict with the size?

Please help
Thanks

238+179/2=208.5
224+241/2=232.5
208.5*232.5=48476.25

Dear Sir,

Please confirm the area of the plot having the following dimensions by triangular method as we are unable to calculate the correct area and request you to confirm with the sketch.

Plot Size 105.13 L x 52.98W x 108.96 L x 47.86 W

Thanks and Best Regards,

Chaitanya Shirole

[JohnS]

For a four-sided figure, just the four sides are insufficient to determine the area, as the figure is not rigid. It can be flexed at the corners.

At least one more piece of information is required:
*Either one of the diagonals (and its relation to the sides.
*Or one of the angles (and what sides bound it)

The diagonal divides it into two rigid triangles, or the angle allows the diagonal to be calculated.

If the sides are known accurately, they have probably been taken from a plat which also specifies the bearing angles of each of the lotlines. That also provides the necessary information.

Without that additional information, there is no way to proceed with any real accuracy. There is a theorem that gives an upper bound from the four sides, but the real area could be ANY figure between that upper bound and zero.