Question

A picture is copied onto a sheet of paper 8.5 inches by 10 inches. A 1.5 inch margin is left all around. What area in square inches does the picture cover?

Answer 1

38.5

Explanation:

When a margin of 1.5 inches is left, then the dimensions of the picture a reduced by

`\begin{gathered} \text{width}=8.5-(2\cdot1.5) \\ \text{length}=10-(2\cdot1.5) \end{gathered}`

meaning the new width is

`8.5-3=5.5`

and the new length is

`10-3=7`

therefore, the area of the picture is

`7\cdot5.5=38.5`

Hence, the area of the picture is 38.5 square inches.