Joanne

Joanne and Roger are planting a rectangular garden. The garden is 8 1/2 ft by 13 ft. They want to use half of the garden for cucumbers and half for tomatoes. They decide to separate the garden into two right triangles. What is the area of the tomato part of the garden?

Correct answer:

T =  55 ¹⁄₄ = 221/4 ft²

Step-by-step explanation:

$$\begin{gathered} a=8\frac{1}{2}=8+\frac{1}{2}=\frac{8\cdot 2+1}{2}=\frac{16+1}{2}=\frac{17}{2}=8.5\text{ft} \\ b=13\text{ft} \\ S=a\cdot b=\frac{17}{2}\cdot 13=\frac{17\cdot 13}{2}=\frac{221}{2}=110.5{\text{ft}}^2 \\ T=S/2=\frac{221}{2}/2=\frac{221}{2\cdot 2}=\frac{221}{4}=\frac{221}{4}{\text{ft}}^2=55\frac{1}{4}{\text{ft}}^2=55.25{\text{ft}}^2 \end{gathered}$$

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