Final answer:
To find the number of gallons of paint needed to paint the walls of a square room, calculate the total area of all four walls and divide it by the coverage of one gallon of paint.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the total area of all four walls, we need to calculate the area of one wall and then multiply it by four. The area of one wall is the product of its width and height, which is 12 ft x 8.5 ft = 102 ft².
So, the total area of all four walls is 102 ft² x 4 = 408 ft².
Since one gallon of paint covers 75 ft², we divide the total area of all four walls (408 ft²) by the coverage of one gallon of paint (75 ft²) to find the number of gallons needed: 408 ft² ÷ 75 ft² = 5.44 gallons.
Therefore, you will need approximately 5.44 gallons of paint to paint the walls of the square room.