Exercise 4 Page 333

To find the area of the parallelogram, calculate the product of the base and the height. Use the conversion factor to convert from square feet to square inches.

864in.^2

Practice makes perfect

The area of a parallelogram is the product of its base and its height. In the given parallelogram, the length of the base is 3 feet and the height is 2 feet.

Let's substitute these two values into the formula for the area of a parallelogram and simplify.

A=bh

SubstituteII

b= 3, h= 2

A= 3( 2)

Multiply

A=6

The area of the parallelogram is 6 square feet. Now we want to convert this into square inches. Let's consider how best to do this. (1 ft)(1 ft)=1 ft^2 ⇕ (12 in.)(12 in.)=144 in.^2 Converting between square feet ( ft^2) and square inches ( in.^2) will involve using a conversion factor. 144in.^2/1 ft^2 If we multiply 6ft^2 by this conversion, we will have an equivalent value in square inches. Let's do it!

6ft^2 * 144in.^2/1 ft^2

MoveLeftFacToNum

a*b/c= a* b/c

6ft^2 * 144in.^2/1 ft^2

CrossCommonFac

Cross out common factors

6 ft^2 * 144in.^2/1 ft^2

SimpQuot

Simplify quotient

6* 144 in.^2/1

DivByOne

a/1=a