Question

Jake and his father are building a rectangular tree house that is 5ft tall, 4ft wide and 4ft long. If the wood cost $2. 50 per square foot what is the least amount and his father can spend on the wood for the tree house?

Answer 1

To find the least amount Jake and his father can spend on the wood for the tree house, we need to find the total surface area of the tree house and multiply it by the cost per square foot.

The total surface area of the tree house can be found by adding the area of each face of the rectangular prism. The area of the front and back faces is 4 feet wide x 5 feet tall = 20 square feet each. The area of the top and bottom faces is 4 feet long x 4 feet wide = 16 square feet each. Finally, the area of the two side faces is 5 feet tall x 4 feet long = 20 square feet each.

So, the total surface area of the tree house is:

2(20 sq ft) + 2(16 sq ft) + 2(20 sq ft) = 112 sq ft

Now, we can find the cost of the wood by multiplying the total surface area by the cost per square foot:

112 sq ft x $2.50/sq ft = $280

Therefore, the least amount Jake and his father can spend on the wood for the tree house is $280.