To find the area of rectangle ABCD, we first need to determine the lengths of its sides.
We can calculate the length of the rectangle by finding the distance between points A and B (on the same horizontal line) and points A and C (on the same vertical line).
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Length of AB (horizontal side):
- Point A: (3, 4)
- Point B: (-5, 4)
The length of side AB is calculated by subtracting the x-coordinates: \[ \text{Length of AB} = |3 - (-5)| = |3 + 5| = 8 \]
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Length of AC (vertical side):
- Point A: (3, 4)
- Point C: (-5, 8)
The length of side AC is calculated by subtracting the y-coordinates: \[ \text{Length of AC} = |8 - 4| = 4 \]
Now, we can calculate the area of the rectangle using the formula: \[ \text{Area} = \text{Length} \times \text{Width} = 8 \times 4 = 32 \]
Thus, the area of rectangle ABCD is 32 square feet.