A carpenter is planning to cover a parallelogram-shaped room with wood flooring. If each square represents 2 ½ feet, compose a rectangle to find the area of the room.

To find the area of the parallelogram-shaped room, we can create a rectangle by extending the shorter side of the parallelogram to meet the longer side, forming a right angle.

Let's say the dimensions of the parallelogram are:
Shorter side = 6 squares
Longer side = 8 squares

To find the area of the room, we can calculate the area of the rectangle formed by extending the shorter side:

Shorter side of rectangle = 6 squares x 2 ½ feet = 15 feet
Longer side of rectangle = 8 squares x 2 ½ feet = 20 feet

Area of the rectangle = 15 feet x 20 feet = 300 square feet

Therefore, the carpenter will need 300 square feet of wood flooring to cover the parallelogram-shaped room.