Question

Estimate the area of a rectangle with length 5/8 foot and a width of 4/9 foot. Explain

1. 5/8 rounds to 1, and 4/9 rounds to 1. The area is about 1 sq ft.
2. 5/8 rounds to 2/3, and 4/9 rounds to 2/3. The area is about 4/9 sq ft.
3. 5/8 rounds to 1/2, and 4/9 rounds to 1/2. The area is about 1/4 sq ft.
4. 5/8 rounds to 0, and 4/9 rounds to 0. The area is about 0 sq ft.
Pick one

Answer 1

Step-1: Find the area of the rectangle.

• Area of rectangle = L × B

L = 5/8 foot; B = 4/9 foot

• => Area of rectangle = 5/8 × 4/9
• => Area of rectangle = 20/72 = 10/36 foot²

Step-2: Verify all the options.

• Option A => 1 ft² => 36/36 ft²
• Option B => 4/9 ft² => 16/36 ft²
• Option C => 1/4 ft² => 9/36 ft²
• Option D => 0 ft² => 0/36 ft²

Looking at all the options, we can see that Option C (1/4 ft²) is the best estimate of the area we obtained as 10/36 and 9/36 are really close fractions.

Thus, Option C is correct.