EXAMPLE 2.6.12 solution

Gomer's bathroom wall measures 8 feet high and 8 feet wide. He is going to cover the wall with square tiles that measure 2 inches by 2 inches. How many tiles are required to cover the wall?

To solve this problem, we divide the area of the wall by the area of one tile. However, the area of the wall and the area of the tile must be expressed in the same units. We will compute both areas in square inches.

The wall measures 8 feet by 8 feet. Since we want to compute the area in square inches, we will convert both measurements to inches.

8 feet = 96 inches.

Area of wall = (96 inches) times (96 inches) = 9126 square inches

Area of one tile = (2 inches) times (2inches) = 4 square inches

Number of tiles needed = (area of wall) divided by (area of one tile)

= 9126 divided by 4

 = 2304 tiles