A Quilt Made of Squares

  • A Quilt Made of Squares


    PoW ID: 3236

    Problem Print

    I am thinking of making a quilt from an illustration that appeared on the cover of an old Scientific American magazine. Here's a sketch of what it looks like:

    I know that:

    • all of the pieces are squares
    • the area of C is 64 square inches
    • the area of D is 81 square inches

    Will the finished shape be a square?

    Extra

    Extra: What's the area of the quadrilateral?

    Answer Check

    Show Answer

    No, the shape will not be a square.

    If your answer does not match our answer,

    • did you print the sketch and label the side lengths of squares C and D?
    • if you know the area of a square, can you find its side length?
    • if you know the side lengths of C and D, can you figure out any other side lengths?
     

    If your answer does match ours,

    • have you clearly shown and explained the work you did?
    • are you confident that you could solve another problem like this successfully?
    • did you make any mistakes along the way? If so, how did you find and fix them?
    • are there any hints that you would give another student?
    • does this problem remind you of experiences you've had?
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