a rectangle 15.5m long and 8.7 meters wide with a square in the middle 3.4 meters wide, how much for paving if it costs $17.50 per square meter

Question

rectangle 15.5 meters long and 8.7 meters wide with a square in the centre side lengths 3.4 meters, how much for paving if paving costs $17.50 per square meter

Answer 1

Okay, it may look harder than it really is. In this case, your answer depends on the area between the two shapes. In other words:

Area of rectangle - Area of square

The formulas are:

A = L * W                          A = S²

A 15.5 * 8.7                      A = 3.4²

A = 134.85                       A = 11.56

        134.85         --                 11.56

                       A = 123.29 square meters

This is what you always do when one shape takes a bite out of another, though the formulas may differ if they are different shapes, of course, like a triangle or even trapezoid. Now, we need the total cost. Every time you buy another square meter, you add another $17.50. And another, and another...That means you are actually multiplying:

Cost = 123.29 m²  *  $17.50 / m²  =  $2157.575

We have to round a little, so we get...

$2157.58