A farmer is planning to use the land in a rectangular field.

Rectangle with a side length of 3.5 * 10 raised to the third power ft
And width of 2.7 * 10 raised to the third power
Part A what is the area of the field?
Write your answer in scientific notation band show or explain your mathematical process

Part B: half of the field is used to grow corn. What is the area of that section?
Write your answer in scientific notation and show or explain your mathematical process

1 answer

To find the area of the rectangular field and the area used to grow corn, we can follow these steps:

Part A: Finding the Area of the Field

The area \( A \) of a rectangle is calculated using the formula:

\[ A = \text{length} \times \text{width} \]

Given:

  • Length = \( 3.5 \times 10^3 \) ft
  • Width = \( 2.7 \times 10^3 \) ft

We can substitute the length and width into the formula:

\[ A = (3.5 \times 10^3) \times (2.7 \times 10^3) \]

Using the properties of exponents and multiplication:

  1. Multiply the coefficients: \[ 3.5 \times 2.7 = 9.45 \]

  2. Add the exponents: \[ 10^3 \times 10^3 = 10^{3+3} = 10^6 \]

Now combine these results:

\[ A = 9.45 \times 10^6 \]

Since scientific notation typically uses one non-zero digit before the decimal, we need to express \( 9.45 \) in this format:

\[ 9.45 = 9.45 \times 10^0 \implies 9.45 \text{ is already in scientific notation.} \]

Thus, the area of the field is:

\[ \text{Area} = 9.45 \times 10^6 \text{ square feet}. \]

Part B: Finding the Area Used to Grow Corn

Since half of the field is used to grow corn, we can simply take half of the total area calculated in Part A:

\[ \text{Area used for corn} = \frac{1}{2} \times \text{Area} \] \[ = \frac{1}{2} \times 9.45 \times 10^6 \]

Calculating this gives:

\[ \text{Area used for corn} = 4.725 \times 10^6 \]

Again, we should express this in proper scientific notation. The number \( 4.725 \) is already in the correct format.

Thus, the area used to grow corn is:

\[ \text{Area used for corn} = 4.725 \times 10^6 \text{ square feet}. \]

Summary:

  • Part A: The area of the field is \( 9.45 \times 10^6 \) square feet.
  • Part B: The area used to grow corn is \( 4.725 \times 10^6 \) square feet.