Question

. Estimate the area of a parallelogram with a base of 3 ¼ yards and a height of 5 ½ yards.

Answer 1

We are given the dimensions of a parallelogram and are asked to estimate its area

Recall that the area of a parallelogram of base b and height h is given by the formula

`A=b\cdot h`

So the area of the parallelogram would be

`3(1)/(4)\cdot5(1)/(2)`

as 3 1/4 and 5 1/2 are mixed numbers, we need to transform them to fractions

Recall that given a mixed number of the form

`a(b)/(c)`

we can transform it into a fraction by multiplying the whole number by the denominator and adding the result to the numerator while leaving the denominator fixed. In this case, that is

`a(b)/(c)=(a\cdot c+b)/(c)`

So, applying this formula to both numbers, we get

`3(1)/(4)=(3\cdot4+1)/(4)=(13)/(4)`

and

`5(1)/(2)=(5\cdot2+1)/(2)=(11)/(2)`

so the area of the parallelogram would be

`(13)/(4)\cdot(11)/(2)=(143)/(8)\approx18`

so the area of the parallelogram is approximately 18 square yards