Answer to May 2007 Problem
The Basement Problem

A diagram of Mr. P's basement is shown below (yes, this is really what his basement looks like).   He needs to know the number of square feet in order to lay a floor covering.   Can you help him determine the number of square feet in his basement?

 

Solution to the Problem:

The answer is 1,238 square feet.

You must determine the lengths of the two sides of the basement that were left blank.
The length of the bottom segment is 15 feet and the length of the small vertical segment is 2 feet.

I divided my basement into rectangles, and then found their areas.   First, I converted all the lengths to inches.   See the diagram below (the areas are given in blue, the missing sides in red).

The total area is 178,375 square inches or 1,238.7 square feet.

Correctly solved by:

1. Walt Arrsion Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2. David and Judy Dixon Bennettsville, South Carolina
3. Cassandra Ayres Mountain View High School
Mountian View, Wyoming
4. Tori Kennedy Brookstone School
Columbus, Georgia
5. Ben Reedy Mountain View High School
Mountian View, Wyoming
6. Chantel Walker Mountain View High School
Mountian View, Wyoming
7. spud_man07@yahoo.com Mountain View High School
Mountian View, Wyoming
8. Natalie Garn Mountain View High School
Mountian View, Wyoming
9. Mr. Robb's Discrete Math Class John Handley High School
Winchester, Virginia
9. Elizabeth Lingo Brookstone School
Columbus, Georgia
10. Luke Mansour Brookstone School
Columbus, Georgia
11. Tristan Collins Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia
12. John Funk Ventura, California
13. Richard K. Johnson La Jolla, California