Final answer:
The Homestead Act allowed individuals over the age of twenty-one to receive 160 acres of land for a nominal fee, on the condition that they improve the land within five years.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Homestead Act allowed any head of household, or individual over the age of twenty-one-including unmarried women-to receive a parcel of 160 acres for only a nominal filing fee. All that recipients were required to do in exchange was to "improve the land" within a period of five years of taking possession.