Lizzy: Jill is going to resod her front yard. The plot of land in front of her house is 200 feet wide by 50 feet. Her house has a sidewalk that is 3 feet wide and 50 feet long. There are also four flower beds: two right in front of the house that are 4 feet deep by 25 feet long, one that is 10 feet by 12 feet, and a fourth that is 7 feet by 8 feet. How many square feet of sod will she need to cover her yard, minus the sidewalk and flower beds?.
Me: Hmmm, let me think. I think this is the detailed solution:
The area of the whole front yard is 200 feet by 50 feet, or 200 ft * 50 ft = 10,000 sq.ft. The sidewalk is 3 feet by 50 feet, or 3ft * 50ft = 150 sq.ft. Each of the flower beds right in front of the house is 4 feet by 25 feet, or 4 ft * 25 ft = 100 sq.ft. There are two, so that's 2 * 100 sq.ft. = 200 sq.ft. The third flower bed is 10 feet by 12 feet, or 10ft * 12ft = 120 sq.ft. The fourth flower bed is 7 feet by 8 feet, or 7ft * 8ft = 56 sq.ft. The total area of the sidewalk and flower beds is 150 sq.ft + 200 sq.ft + 120 sq.ft + 56 sq.ft = 526 sq. ft. So Jill will need a total of 10,000 sq.ft - 526 sq.ft = 9,474 sq.ft. of sod. Final answer: 9474.