Exercise 56 Page 21

It is given that square ceiling panels with side lengths of 2 feet are going to be used to cover a total area of 185 ft^()2. We want to know if we can use a whole number of ceiling panels. The first step is to find the area of each ceiling panel. Since they are squares, we will use the formula for the area of a square. A= s^2Then, we can divide the total area to be covered by the area of an individual ceiling panel. With this we will obtain the number of ceiling panels needed. Let's find the area of each ceiling panel.

A = s^2

Substitute

s= 2

A = 2^2

CalcPow

Calculate power

A = 4

One ceiling panel has an area of 4 ft^2. If we divide the total area to be covered by the value of each ceiling panel, we will get how many ceiling panels are needed. 185/4 = 46.25 We would need 46.25 ceiling panels to cover the whole area. Therefore, we cannot use a whole number of them.