Answer:
<u>The correct answer is 58 1/2 feet. See below to understand the difference of both methods.</u>
Step-by-step explanation:
1. Let's review the information provided to us for solving the question using both methods:
Area of each student = 4 1/2 square feet
Number of students = 13
2. Let's use the first method to solve the question:
4 1/2 = 9/2 (Improper fraction because the numerator, 9 is bigger than the denominator, 2)
9/2 * 13 = 117/2
<u>117/2 = 58 1/2 square feet</u>
3. Let's use the second method to solve the question:
4 1/2 = 4 + 1/2 (Using addition to rewrite the fraction)
(4 + 1/2) * 13 = (4 * 13) + (1/2 * 13) (Distributive property of the multiplication)
(4 * 13) + (1/2 * 13) = 52 + 13/2 = 52 + 6 1/2
<u>52 + 6 1/2 = 58 1/2 square feet</u>
