Final answer:
To pave the patio, you will need 378 8-inch-square paving stones.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the number of 8-inch-square paving stones needed to pave the patio, we need to calculate the area of the patio and divide it by the area of each paving stone. The patio measures 12 feet by 14 feet, so its area is 12 feet multiplied by 14 feet, which is 168 square feet. To calculate the area of each paving stone, we convert inches to feet by dividing 8 inches by 12, giving us 0.67 feet. The area of each paving stone is then 0.67 feet multiplied by 0.67 feet, which is 0.45 square feet. Finally, we divide the area of the patio (168 square feet) by the area of each paving stone (0.45 square feet) to find the number of paving stones needed: 168 / 0.45 = 373.33. Since we can't have a fraction of a paving stone, we round up to the nearest whole number. Therefore, 378 paving stones are needed to pave the patio.