Answer: Choice D) 4 over 25 square foot
This is the same as writing the fraction 4/25 of a square foot.
============================================================
Explanation:
The base of the rectangle is 3/5 of a foot. The horizontal portion of either triangle is 1/5 of a foot.
These two facts allow us to find that the base of the parallelogram is 3/5 - 1/5 = 2/5 of a foot.
Multiply this with the height (2/5) to get
area = base*height
area = (2/5)*(2/5)
area = 4/25 .... answer is choice D
Side note: the base and height are not always the same length.
-----------
A slightly longer approach would have you follow these steps
- Find the area of the rectangle. Call it A.
- Find the area of the triangle on the left. Call it B.
- Find the area of the triangle on the right. Call it C. You should find that B and C are the same value.
- The final answer is the computation of A-B-C and you should get 4/25.
