Question

The tiled floor is 5 3/4 ft by 3 1/2 ft Find the area the carpet needs to cover.

Answer 1

5 3/4 * 3 1/2 = 5.75 * 3.5 = 20.125

or, using the distributive property,
(5 + 3/4)(3 + 1/2) = 5*3 + 5*1/2 + 3/4*3 + 3/4*1/2
= 15 + 5/2 + 9/4 + 3/8
= 15 + 20/8 + 18/8 + 3/8
= 15 + 41/8
= 15 + 5 + 1/8
= 20 1/8