Carmen P.

asked • 08/12/20

Measurement missing

An 8 foot square floor is to be covered with square tiles measuring 8 inches on each side. If each tile costs 50 cents, how much will it cost to tile the floor?


I keep getting an answer of 96 and its incorrect.

Dr. Jonathan Y.

tutor
Make sure you ALWAYS use UNITs in your calculation. With units in your calculation, you bring the physical meanings to your process. See below: 8 x 8 = 64 vs. 8 ft x 8 ft = 64 ft^2 this could be anything: this is for area.
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08/14/20

1 Expert Answer

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David W. answered • 08/12/20

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First, find out how many square in inches for the floor (note: you could also calculate square feet of floor and tiles):


8 ft * 8 ft

96 in * 96 in = 9216 in2


Now, the area of a single tile:

8 in * 8 in - 64 in2


Then, how many tiles (note: 96 / 8 = 12 uncut tiles in each row and each column:


9216 / 64 = 144 tiles


At at cost of $0.50 each, that is $72.00.

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Dr. Jonathan Y.

tutor
If I read the question as 8 square ft, 8 ft^2, then: 8 ft^2 = n * (8 inch/12 inch/ft)^2 where n is the # of tiles give n = 4.5 tiles then multiply $0.50 /tiles gives $2.25// I wish we still can do that with such a low cost!!
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08/14/20

David W.

That's why an "8 foot square" has an area of 64 square feet. It is not "8 square feet." A 2 ft x 4 ft table is 8 square feet.
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08/14/20

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