Avneet
buys 9 square paving slabs, each with a side of
m.
He lays them in the form of a square.
(a) What is the perimeter of his arrangement [figure (i)]?
(b) Shari does not like his arrangement. She gets him to lay them out like a cross. What is the perimeter of her arrangement [figure (ii)]?
(c) Which has greater perimeter?
(d) Avneet wonders if there is a way of getting an even greater perimeter. Can you find a way of doing this? (The paving slabs must meet along complete edges i.e. they cannot be broken.)
(a) Side
of square =
Perimeter of square =
(b) Perimeter of cross = 0.5 + 1 + 1 + 0.5 + 1 + 1 + 0.5 + 1 + 1
+ 0.5 + 1 + 1 = 10 m
(c) The arrangement in the form of a cross has a greater perimeter.
(d) Arrangements with perimeters greater than 10 m cannot be determined.