Question

a tile setter is covering a 5ft by 5ft square showerwall with tiles that cover 4 5/8 icnhes by 4 5/8 inches. how many tiles will the setter need to cover the 5ft by 5ft wall.

Answer 1

Recall that there are 12 inches in 1 ft.

Dimensions of the wall to be tilled in inches is given by 5 x 12 inches by 5 x 12 inches = 60 inches by 60 inches.

Area of wall to be covered by tiles in square inches = 60 x 60 = 3,600 square inches.

Area of each tile is given by

$4 \frac{5}{8} \times4 \frac{5}{8} = \frac{37}{8} \times \frac{37}{8} \\ \\ = \frac{1369}{64} =21.390625 \ square \ inches$

Number of tiles needed is given by:

$\frac{3,600 \ square \ inches}{21.390625 \ square \ inches} =168.3$

Therefore, the number of 4 5/8 icnhes by 4 5/8 inches tiles that will be needed by the setter to cover the 5ft by 5ft wall is 169 tiles.