Since 65 can only be decomposed (so to speak) into a product of numbers greater than 1 in only one way (up to commutativity): 65 = 13 × 5, there can only be one possible answer. So it’s hard to know what’s being tested here, since it’s impossible to include “wrong” choices with the correct area. However, since schoolchildren now are ignorant of both times tables and of how to use a calculator correctly, maybe this is an exercise in simple arithmetic? It doesn’t help that the diagrams are not drawn to scale, even with the disclaimer. The whole thing smacks of intellectual laziness.
Why would Lucy do this when
works equally well?
I could argue it is more logical, too.
As Red Five pointed out 5 x5 + 5 x8 works the best 🙂
The area of the parallelogram is the sum of the area of the rectangle and the area of the square.
8 cm x 5 cm is the area of the rectangle, so she could use that calculation in finding the total area of the parallelogram.
Since 65 can only be decomposed (so to speak) into a product of numbers greater than 1 in only one way (up to commutativity): 65 = 13 × 5, there can only be one possible answer. So it’s hard to know what’s being tested here, since it’s impossible to include “wrong” choices with the correct area. However, since schoolchildren now are ignorant of both times tables and of how to use a calculator correctly, maybe this is an exercise in simple arithmetic? It doesn’t help that the diagrams are not drawn to scale, even with the disclaimer. The whole thing smacks of intellectual laziness.
Given the triviality of the area calculation (at any level, let alone Yr 9), as pointed out by RF, the question boils down to
Which of the following is equal to 65?
(And a calculator can be used if anyone’s head hurts from doing the mental arithmetic).