The area of the square shown is 2 square centimeters.
Which of the following describes 4s, the perimeter of the square in centimeters?
A.
It is an irrational number, since s is rational, and 4 times a rational number is irrational.
B.
It is a rational number, since s is irrational, and 4 times an irrational number is rational.
C.
It is an irrational number, since s is irrational, and 4 times an irrational number is irrational.
D.
It is a rational number, since s is rational, and 4 times a rational number is rational.
The correct answer is D. It is a rational number, since s is rational, and 4 times a rational number is rational.
Since the area of the square is given as 2 square centimeters, the side length (s) of the square can be found by taking the square root of the area. The square root of 2 is an irrational number. However, the perimeter of the square (4s) is simply 4 times the side length, which is a rational number multiplied by 4, resulting in a rational number.