Maria wants to paint the walls in her bedroom. A gallon of paint will cover 400ft2. She measures
The surface to be painted and it is . How many whole gallons of paint will she need?
(Rememeber: we can not but a fractional gallon)

Question

Maria wants to paint the walls in her bedroom. A gallon of paint will cover 400ft2. She measures
The surface to be painted and it is  . How many whole gallons of paint will she need?
(Rememeber: we can not but a fractional gallon)

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Since a gallon of paint covers 400ft2, we need to divide the total surface area to be painted by 400 to determine the number of gallons required:

Surface area to be painted = 11eb9...a266_TB8446_11 
= 1200 ft2

Number of gallons required = 1200 ft2 ÷ 400 ft2/gallon 
= 3 gallons

However, we cannot buy a fractional gallon, so Maria will need to purchase a whole number of gallons. Therefore, she will need 4 gallons of paint, which is closest to 3 gallons (and is the next whole number).

The only answer choice that is closest to 4 gallons is B, which is the correct answer. To calculate the number of gallons of paint needed, we need to divide the total surface area to be painted by the coverage of one gallon of paint. 
Total surface area to be painted = 1760 ft2 
Number of gallons needed = 1760/400 = 4.4 
Since we cannot buy a fraction of a gallon, we need to round up to the nearest whole number. Therefore, Maria will need 5 gallons of paint. 
Option B is the correct answer.

Maria Wants to Paint the Walls in Her Bedroom