Answer:
The composite area is a total of 62 square inches.
Step-by-step explanation:
You're given three rectangles of different width and height. To find the correct answer, you need to find the sum of each rectangles' area.
first though we need to find the height of the middle rectangle. We are told the total height and the other two rectangles' heights, so we just need to subtract the others' heights from the total:
10 - (4 + 1.5)
10 - 5.5
= 4.5
So the middle rectangle is 4x4.5 inches, giving it an area of 18 square inches
The top one is 8x4 inches for a total of 32 square inches.
And the bottom one is 1.5x8 inches, for a total 12 square inches.
If we add them all up, that's 18 + 32 + 12 square inches, or 62 square inches.