Question

annie is expanding the flowerbed in her backyard. currently there is a 7 - foot by 5 - foot rectangle in the middle of the yard. she would like to expand the area of the flowerbed by 60%. how many square feet will be added to the flowerbed? round your answer to the nearest tenth. (1 point)

Explanation:

Step1: Find the current area of the flowerbed

The formula for the area of a rectangle is \(A = l\times w\). Given \(l = 7\) feet and \(w = 5\) feet, then \(A_{current}=7\times5 = 35\) square feet.

Step2: Calculate the increased area

If the area is increased by \(60\%\), the multiplier for the increase is \(1 + 0.6=1.6\). So the new area \(A_{new}=A_{current}\times1.6\). Substitute \(A_{current} = 35\) into the formula: \(A_{new}=35\times1.6=56\) square feet.

Step3: Find the added area

The added area \(A_{added}=A_{new}-A_{current}\). Substitute \(A_{new}=56\) and \(A_{current} = 35\) into the formula: \(A_{added}=56 - 35=21\) square feet.

Answer:

\(21.0\) square feet