Answer:
Rounded to the nearest whole number, the circles have a collective area of 20 square inches
Explanation:
Each of the squares has a radius that is 1/4 the width of the box, so 1.25 inches. We can simply calculate their four areas given that information, and the sum of them will be the correct answer.
The equation for the area of a circle is πr². We know r is 1.25, and we need three 4 of these, so we can update the equation to say:
a = 4 × π × 1.25²
a = 4 × π × 1.5626
a = π × 6.25
a ≈ 19.625
Rounded to the nearest whole number, that would be 20 square inches.