Alice and Andrew want to buy a rug for a room that is 14 by 15 feet. They want to leave an even strip of flooring uncovered around the edges of the room. How wide a strip if they buy a rug with an area of 110 square feet?"

Short Answer: The strip should be 2 feet... :)


The area of the room is 210 square feet. Area (of a rectangle) is calculated using Length times Width (in this case 14 x 15). Since you know the strip is equal on all sides then the rug will share the same ratio as the room. Knowing this you can find the dimensions of the rug using the given area (110 square feet). This makes the rug 10 feet by 11 feet. To find the strip use the difference between one of the dimensions (say the length of 10) and the same dimension of the room (length being 14). This gives a difference of 4 feet, but since the strip is on each side cut it in half to get 2 feet... :)