Final answer:
To maintain a 0.5-inch border around the mat, 0.5 inches would be cut from each side, resulting in 1 inch being removed from both the length and the width in total.
Step-by-step explanation:
If the mat needs to have a 0.5-inch border on all four sides, the amount that needs to be cut from both the left and right sides would be 0.5 inches each because you want to maintain the border width evenly on both sides. Similarly, for the top and bottom of the mat, 0.5 inches would be cut from each. Therefore, in total, 1 inch should be removed from both the length and the width of the original mat size to ensure an even border of 0.5 inches all around.
To have a 0.5-inch border on all four sides of the mat, you need to cut the same amount from the left and right sides. This means that you will cut 0.5 inch from each side, resulting in a total of 1 inch. So, you should cut 1 inch from the left and right sides of the mat.
Similarly, you need to cut the same amount from the top and bottom of the mat. Again, this means cutting 0.5 inch from each side, resulting in a total of 1 inch. So, you should cut 1 inch from the top and bottom of the mat.