Question

Hyla has blocks of clay that are each 4 centimeters by 4 centimeters by 2 centimeters. She needs to cover the bottom of a box with a 2-centimeter tall layer of clay. The bottom of the box is 24 centimeters long and 20 centimeters wide. How many blocks of clay does Hyla need?

Answer 1

To cover the bottom of the box, Hyla needs 30 blocks of clay.

Step-by-step explanation:

To cover the bottom of the box with a 2-centimeter tall layer of clay, we need to find the volume of the box's bottom and divide it by the volume of each block of clay. The bottom of the box has a length of 24 centimeters and a width of 20 centimeters. These dimensions give us a bottom area of 24 cm * 20 cm = 480 cm². The volume of the box's bottom, considering the 2-centimeter height, is 480 cm² * 2 cm = 960 cm³.

Each block of clay has a volume of 4 cm * 4 cm * 2 cm = 32 cm³. To find the number of blocks needed, we divide the volume of the box's bottom by the volume of each block: 960 cm³ / 32 cm³ = 30 blocks. Therefore, Hyla needs 30 blocks of clay to cover the bottom of the box.