Question

If he paints 1/2 of the wall blue, how many feet will be blue?

Answer 1

Find the area of the wall:

$A=8\frac{2}{5}ft\times18\frac{1}{3}ft$

To multiply mixed numbers first turn it into improper fractions:

$\begin{gathered} 8\frac{2}{5}=8+\frac{2}{5}=\frac{40}{5}+\frac{2}{5}=\frac{42}{5} \\ \\ 18\frac{1}{3}=18+\frac{1}{3}=\frac{54}{3}+\frac{1}{3}=\frac{55}{3} \end{gathered}$$\begin{gathered} A=\frac{42}{5}ft\times\frac{55}{3}ft \\ \\ A=\frac{2310}{15}ft^2 \\ \\ A=154ft^2 \end{gathered}$

As just the half (1/2) of the wall will be paint in blue divide the area of the wall into 2:

$\frac{154ft^2}{2}=77ft^2$

Then, 77 square feet will be blue.

Answer: 77