Question

A new community center just opened up and they are in the process of deciding what the maximum capacity should be for their center. The center has the dimensions of

60ft. X 25ft. The center thinks that each person (with their chair) will occupy 3.1 square feet. What should the maximum capacity for the community center be?

Answer 1

483 people

Explanation:

Cool question! A real-life situation, I love it.

Simple enough: calculate the square feet of the building, then divide that by how many square feet each person needs.

60 ft x 25 ft = 1500 ft²

That's how many square feet we need to cram a bunch of 3.1 square feet blocks into. How many will fit? Just divide:

1500 ft² ÷ 3.1 ft²/person = 483 persons

(Units are important. Do you see how ft² cancelled out and "person" went to the top?)

But this problem as stated has at least several big problems that kill it's realism.

1. Can we use every single square foot of the building like this? Of course not, because where's the podium or stage or whatever all these people are sitting and looking at?

2. Do you have a tape measure or ruler handy? My chair measures a bit over 2' from arm to arm, and I probably need 3' front-to-back to accommodate my legs, so the ft²/person should probably be closer to 6, not 3.1.

3. And then there are aisles to consider: maybe one down the middle, and almost certainly one on each side.

Just some things to think about when you personally start facing real-world decisions like this. Take care.