I don’t under stand the problem, the m and the numbers, I think the operation is multipacation but other than that, all I know is that it’s algebra? So please help me to solve this “question in a nutshell”

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1 Answer
Nov 5, 2017

10m^2, 5.5m^2, 4m^2

Explanation:

The problem can also be restated as: For a given amount of paint, how much of the wall can be painted?
m^2 is the unit of area

For (a):

The painter has 12 liters of paint.

We need to know how many "1.2 liters" are there in "12 liters"
12 / 1.2 = 10

We have 10 "1.2 liters" and we know that for every "1.2 liters", we can cover 1m^2 of the wall.

Therefore, we can cover 10m^2 of the wall.

We can also use ratio and proportion.

For every 1.2 liters, the painter can cover 1m^2 or mathematically, 1.2:1
For every 12 liters, the painter can cover x m^2 or mathematically, 12:x

Equating the ratios,
1.2/1 = 12/x
(ratios can also be written as fractions)
Multiplying both sides of the equation by x,
1.2x = 12
x=10

The same can be done for (b) and (c)

For (b):
Let x be the area of the wall painted
1.2/1 = 6.6/x
1.2x = 6.6
x=5.5

For (c):
Let x be the area of the wall painted
1.2/1 = 4.8/x
1.2x = 4.8
x=4

Hope this helps. :)