A rectangle is a parallelogram containing four right angles. Opposite sides (a = c, b = d) are equal and the perimeter is the sum of the lengths of all sides (a + b + c + d) or, comonly, 2 x length x width. The area of a rectangle is length x width. A square is a rectangle with four equal length sides. The perimeter of a square is 4 x length of one side (4s) and the area is the length of one side squared (s²).

A triangle is a three-sided polygon. It has three interior angles that add up to 180° (a + b + c = 180°). An exterior angle of a triangle is equal to the sum of the two interior angles that are opposite (d = b + c). The perimeter of a triangle is equal to the sum of the lengths of its three sides, the height of a triangle is equal to the length from the base to the opposite vertex (angle) and the area equals one-half triangle base x height: a = ½ base x height.

The circumference of a circle is the distance around its perimeter and equals π (approx. 3.14159) x diameter: c = π d. The area of a circle is π x (radius)² : a = π r².

To combine like terms, add or subtract the coefficients (the numbers that come before the variables) of terms that have the same variable raised to the same exponent.

8a⁹ - 2a⁹ = 6a⁹

The surface area of a cylinder is 2πr² + 2πrh:

sa = 2πr² + 2πrh
sa = 2π(2²) + 2π(2 x 8)
sa = 2π(4) + 2π(16)
sa = (2 x 4)π + (2 x 16)π
sa = 8π + 32π
sa = 40π