Sigrid was helping her parents lay new tile in the foyer of their house. The foyer was 8 feet by 8 feet, but the tiles were 4 square feet. How many tiles will they need to fill the space?

Answer 1

The foyer is assumed to be a square. 8' x 8' = 64 sq ft.

The tiles are each 4 sq ft. Their dimensions can each be 2' x 2' or 4' x 1'.

Sixteen 2'x2' tiles will fill the space (16 x 2x2 = 16x4 = 64).

Sixteen 4'x1' tiles will fill the space (16 x 4x1 = 16x4 = 64).

Eight 4'x1' tiles and eight 2'x2' tiles will fill the space ((8 x 4x1) + (8 x 2x2) = 8x4 + 8x4 = 16x4 = 64).

The common feature is that 16 tiles of 4 sq ft are required, either all of a single shape or of mixed shapes.