Area with U.S. Customary conversions, rounded up, and costed
Three parts. The dimensions arrive in inches and the coverage is in square feet, so the conversion comes first — and squaring a length squares the conversion factor too.
Every step of Area with U.S. Customary conversions, rounded up, and costed explained on video. Pause anywhere; the embed scrolls independently of the page.
ALEKS randomizes the numbers each attempt, but the question shape stays the same. Here are three example versions you might see.
A rug is 72 in by 36 in.
What is its area in square feet? Type just the number.
A floor measures 34 ft². Each tin of finish covers 8 ft², and partial tins cannot be bought.
How many tins are needed? Type just the number.
A counter is 96 in by 24 in. Sealer covers 5 ft² per can at $7.40 a can, and partial cans cannot be bought.
What is the total cost? Type just the number.
A rectangular tabletop is 60 in long and 48 in wide. Amy wants to seal it. Sealant coverage is measured in square feet.
(a) Find the area of the tabletop in square feet.
(b) Each bottle covers 6 ft² and she cannot buy partial bottles. How many whole bottles does she need?
(c) Each bottle costs $9.75. What will she spend?
Conversion facts: 1 foot = 12 inches; 1 yard = 3 feet; 1 yard = 36 inches.
Convert the sides
The area
Whole bottles
The cost
Why the conversion comes first
You could compute 60 × 48 = 2,880 in² and then convert. It works, but you have to divide by 144, and 144 is the number people forget.
Converting the two sides first keeps every factor linear: divide by 12, divide by 12, then multiply. Fewer places to go wrong, and the intermediate numbers stay small enough to sanity-check by eye.