Question

A building was measured with a degree of accuracy to the nearest 0.5ft; 30ft × 40ft. What is the largest possible area of the building to the nearest ft2?

Answer 1

The largest possible dimensions with that accuracy are 30.25 ft by 40.25 ft. The product of these dimensions is 1217.5625 ft², about ...

 1218 ft²

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Any larger dimensions would be rounded to 30.5 ft or 40.5 ft (or more), so would not be reported as 30 ft by 40 ft.

Answer 2

A building was measured with a degree of accuracy to the nearest 0.5ft; 30ft × 40ft. What is the largest possible area of the building to the nearest ft2?

A) 1165 ft2  

B) 1183 ft2  

C) 1218 ft2  

D) 1235 ft2

The answer is C. 1218 ft2 is correct. The degree of accuracy is half a unit each side of the unit of measure. So the largest the building could actual be is 30.25ft x 40.25ft.