A school classroom with a total of 4,200 floor tiles is divided into a 30 square-foot lab area and an 80 square-foot seating area. The number of tiles on the entire classroom floor can be represented by the equation 30a + 80b = 4,200. In this context, which of the following does b represent?
Correct Answer: C
Your Answer:
Explanation
C
The question asks for the meaning of a constant in context. Start by reading the final question, which asks for the meaning of the constant b. Then label the parts of the equation with the information given. The question states that the lab area is 30 square feet, the seating area is 80 square feet, and the total number of floor tiles is 4,200. Rewrite the equation with these labels: (lab area size)(a) + (seating area size)(b) = total tiles. Next, use Process of Elimination to get rid of answer choices that are not consistent with the labels. Since b is multiplied by the size of the seating area, eliminate (A) and (B) because they refer to the lab area, not the seating area. Compare the remaining answer choices. The difference is between the average number of tiles and the total number of tiles. Since b is multiplied by the number of square feet in the seating area, it must represent a value per square foot, not a total value. Keep (C) because it is consistent with this information, and eliminate (D) because it refers to a total number. The correct answer is (C).
