Michael needs to cover the front and back of his rectangular painting
with cloth for protection. The length of the painting is 3 and 1/2 meters and
he needs at least 17 and 1/2 square meters of fabric to cover both sides of
his painting. What is the width of Michael's painting, in meters?

A: 6 and 2/3
B: 5
C: 5/2
D: 5/8

answer

5/2

explanation

he needs 17 1/2 = 35/2 meters of fabric to cover both sides

divide by 2 to find the area of fabric to cover one side

area = (35/2) / 2 = 35/4

area = length * width

35/4 = length * width

length is 3 1/2 = 7/2

35/4 = 7/2 * width

width = (35/4) / (7/2)

width = (35*2) / (7*4)

width = 70 / 28

width = 5/2

the correct is answer is a 9-sided polygon!