Question

Suppose you are covering your desk (shape below) with paper and want to know how many square inches of paper you need.

a. Explain in words/ drawings how you could find the total area of the shape above.

b. Find the total area of the shape (Show ALL work for credit).

c. State your answer in a complete sentence.

Answer 1

a. Divide the figure into two rectangles, find the area of each rectangle and add them (See the picture attached).

b.
`279\ in^2`

c. The total area of the figure is 279 square inches.

Explanation:

a. Divide the figure into two rectangles (See the picture attached), then find the area of each rectangle and finally, add the areas calculated in order to get the total area of the given figure,

b. The area of a rectangle can be found using this formula:

`A=lw`

Where "l" is lenght and "w" is the width.

Area of Rectangle A

You can identify that:

`l_A=19\ in\\\\w_A=11\ in`

Then, its area is:

`A_A=(19\ in)(11\ in)=209\ in^2`

Area of Rectangle B

You can identify that:

`l_B=10\ in\\\\w_B=18\ in-11\ in=7\ in`

Then, its area is:

`A_B=(10\ in)(7\ in)=70\ in^2`

Total area

`A_T=209\ in^2+70\ in^2=279\ in^2`

c. The total area of the figure is 279 square inches.