Which of the following is the formula for the area of a rectangle?

The formula for the area of a rectangle is indeed represented as base times height, which corresponds to the second answer choice. In the context of rectangles, the "base" can be thought of as one side of the rectangle (often referred to as the length), and the "height" is the perpendicular distance between the two bases (often referred to as the width). To find the area, you multiply these two dimensions together.

This relationship arises from the definition of area, which quantifies the space enclosed within the boundaries of a two-dimensional shape. For a rectangle, every unit of length along the base is multiplied by every unit of height, effectively counting all the individual square units that fit within the rectangular shape. Therefore, the expression based on base times height successfully captures this concept, resulting in the area measurement.