Question

Judith works after school at her family's tent company. One of their best selling tents is an A-frame tent that is 4 ft. high and has a rectangular bottom 4ft. wide by 6 ft. long. The sides of the tent are 4.5 ft. long. How much canvas is needed to make the tent?

Answer 1

Judith works after school at her family's tent company. One of their best selling tents is an A-frame tent that is 4 ft. high and has a rectangular bottom 4 ft. wide by 6 ft. long. The sides of the tent are 4.5 ft. long. How much canvas is needed to make the tent?

H = 4ft

W = 4ft

L = 6ft

A = 4.5 ft

S = ?

Solution

$S = 2*S1 + 2*S2 + Sbase$

Where:

S1 - area of the triangle

S2 - area of the rectangle

Sbase - area of the bottom

Find area of the bottom by the formula:

Sbase = w * l = 4 * 6 = 24 ft²

Find area of the triangle by the formula:

$S1 = \frac{1}{2} * w * h = 0.5 * 4 * 4 = 8 ft^2$

Find area of the rectangle by the formula:

$S2 = a * l = 4.5 * 6 = 27 ft^2$

Then substitute the resulting values in the general formula:

$S = 2 * 8 + 2 * 27 + 24 = 94 ft^2.$

Answer

Need $94\mathrm{ft}^2$ of the canvas.