If a homeowner has a wall that is 10 feet long and plans to hang strips of wallpaper that are 20 inches wide, how many strips will be needed?

To determine how many strips of wallpaper are needed to cover a 10-foot long wall using wallpaper that is 20 inches wide, you first need to convert the wall length from feet to inches. Since there are 12 inches in a foot, 10 feet is equal to 120 inches (10 feet × 12 inches/foot = 120 inches).

Next, you can calculate how many strips of wallpaper are needed by dividing the total length of the wall in inches by the width of each strip of wallpaper. The width of the wallpaper is 20 inches, so you would divide 120 inches by 20 inches per strip:

120 inches ÷ 20 inches/strip = 6 strips.

Here, the correct answer would reflect the calculation required to cover the wall completely. While the suggestion of needing 2.5 strips might arise from a misunderstanding of how to account for full strips required, it does not give a whole number needed to cover the length of the wall. The need for whole strips ensures that there is no partial strip, which confirms the need for 6 full strips when calculating accurately.

It’s important to account for the interpretation of wall space needing full strips rather than fractions thereof when planning wallpaper applications.