NATIONAL COUNCIL OF TEACHERS OF MATHEMATICS MARCH 2001

Let’s Go Home
Juan and Lori just bought a house that
needs to be remodeled. They are going
to paint and carpet some of the rooms.
Since they are on a limited budget, Juan
began checking the advertisements for sales.

Store Paint Price

Home Handy $10 per gallon
Mix and Fix Buy 3 gallons for $13 each, get one free
Sanders Buy 1 gallon for $18; all additional gallons, 1/2 price

1. Complete the table below so Juan can compare prices for 1 through 10 gallons of paint.

No. of Gallons 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Home Handy
Mix and Fix
Sanders

2. Where should Juan purchase the following amounts of paint?

a) 3 gallons? ___________________________________
b) 4 gallons? ____________________________ y
c ) 10 gallons? ___________________________________
$120
110
100
3. Let’s make a graph of the paint prices.
90
Price in dollars

a) Use three different colors or marks 80

to plot the three stores. 70
b) Explain the pattern in the graphs. 60
____________________________ 50
____________________________ 40

c) Which graph shows that you can buy 4 30

gallons for the same price as 3 gallons? 20

_______________________________ 10
x
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Number of gallons
 Let’s Go Home—Continued
4. Use the floor plans in figure 1 on the next page to fill in the room dimensions below.

Room Window
Room Door Size Wall Area
Dimensions Size
Bedroom 2 one – 3' x 4' one – 3' x 7'

one – 9' x 5' one – 9' x 7'

Dining Room one – 3' x 7'
Master Bedroom three – 3' x 4' two – 3' x 7'

Great Room two – 7' x 5' two – 6' x 7'

5. Assume all the ceiling heights are 8 feet except the great room, which is 12' 4". Using the dimensions of the
doors and windows from the chart, find the wall area of the rooms listed. Don’t forget that the windows and
doorways don’t get painted. Closet doors do get painted.

6. a) What is the total area to be painted?

b) If each gallon of paint covers 400 square feet, how many gallon cans of paint should be purchased?

c) Which store would provide the best buy on the paint?

d) How can you tell from the table in question 1?
e) How can you tell from the graph?

7. a) If each room requires two coats of paint, how many total square feet will be painted?

b) How many gallon cans of paint should be purchased?

c) Where should the paint be purchased?
d) On the average, which store has the best buy?
Why?

When Lori went looking for carpet, she discovered that carpet is sold on rolls that are either 12 feet or 15
feet wide. She will need to consider which width to purchase to minimize waste.

8. Complete the chart below, filling in the information requested by the following questions:
a) Fill in the width carpet that would be the best selection for the rooms that were painted.
b) Fill in the length of carpet needed to cover each room.
c) Lori made measurements in feet, but carpet is sold in square yards. Compute and fill in the square
yardage needed.
Room Carpet Roll Length Square Yards
Room
Dimensions Width Needed Needed
Bedroom 2

Dining Room

Master Bedroom

Great Room

2 NCTM Student Math Notes, March 2001

 Let’s Go Home—Continued

Brkfst.
12' 8" x 13' 6"
Kit.
First Floor 12' 0" x 11-6

Grt. Rm.
14' 4" x 21' 3"
D. W.

Ceiling 12' 4"

Din. Entry
Garage 12' 3" x 13' 4"
20' 0" x 29' 4"
Covered
Porch

MBR.
15' 3" X 13' 4"
Second Floor

Closet
BR. 2
10' X 12'

BR. 4
BR. 3 11' 6" X 13' 3"
11' 10" X 10' 11"

Fig. 1

NCTM Student Math Notes, March 2001 3

 Let’s Go Home—Continued

9. Lori’s budget for carpeting is $2200. How much can she afford to pay per square yard?

10. Notice that the carpet will not exactly fit the rooms. The excess piece is called a remnant. What would the
remnants look like? Draw and label the sizes of the remnants below.

11. Look at the floor plan in figure 1. Where might Lori be able to use the remnants most effectively?

12. a) Lori decides to use one of the carpet remnants in the entry hall as a runner. What are the dimensions of
the largest runner she can make?
b) In order to avoid fraying, carpet remnants must be bound at a cost of $1.50 per linear foot. How much
will it cost to bind the hall runner?
c) If Lori spends $20 per square yard for carpeting, can she bind the runner and still stay within her carpet
budget of $2200?
Explain how you determined your answer.

Can you …
• find how many square yards of carpeting are wasted?
• find the cost to wallpaper instead of paint?
• find the cost to replace the kitchen floor with new linoleum?
• design your own home?

Did you know that …

• there are standard sizes for many home-improvement items?
• there is a way to figure out average costs for certain home-improvement projects?
• rooms requiring plumbing are placed close together to save on cost?

Mathematical content
• Geometry, reading charts and graphs, scale drawings

Resources
• Advertisements from home-improvement stores
• House-plan magazines or books
• Local architects and building contractors

4 NCTM Student Math Notes, March 2001

 Let’s Go Home—Continued
The following resources are available from Dale Seymour Publications, Palo Alto, California
(www.aw.com/dsp)
—A Blueprint for Geometry by Bill Lombard and Brad Fulton
—Designing Playgrounds by Jan Ham
—Sourcebook of Problems for Geometry by Mabel Sykes
—3-D Home Kit

Answers

1.
No. of Gallons 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Home Handy 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Mix and Fix 13 26 39 39 52 65 78 78 91 104

Sanders 18 27 36 45 54 63 72 81 90 99

2. a) Home Handy
b) Mix and Fix
c) Sanders

3. a) See graph y
b) The different graphs cross over each other.
$120
They all increase 110
c) The Mix and Fix graph 100 o

x
Price in dollars

90 o

x
x
80 x o
70 o
x

60 o
x

50 o
x

o - Home Handy 40 o
x

- Mix and Fix 30 o

x

20 o
x

- Sanders
x

10 o
x
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Number of gallons

4 and 5. Answers will vary because of rounding.

Room Window Wall Area

Room Door Size
Dimensions Size (approx.sq ft)
Bedroom 2 10' x 12' one – 3' x 4' one– 3' x 7' 319

one – 9' x 5' one – 9' x 7' 280

Dining Room 12' 3" x 13' 4" one – 3' x 7'
Master Bedroom 15' 3" x 13' 4" three – 3' x 4' two – 3' x 7' 379

Great Room 14' 4" x 21' 3" two – 7' x 5' two – 6' x 7' 721

NCTM Student Math Notes, March 2001 5

 Let’s Go Home—Continued
6. a) About 1699 square feet
b) 5
c) Home Handy
d) Smallest price for 5 gallons
e) Lowest point for 5 gallons

7. a) About 3398 square feet

b) 9
c) Home Handy or Sanders
d) Home Handy because it has lower prices for all except 4, 8, or 10 gallons.

8.

Room Carpet Roll Length Square Yards

Room
Dimensions Width Needed Needed
Bedroom 2 10' x 12' 12 10' 13.3

Dining Room 12' 3" x 13' 4" 15 12' 3" 20.4

Master Bedroom 15' 3" x 13' 4" 15 15' 3" 25.4

Great Room 14' 4" x 21' 3" 15 21' 3" 35.4

9. About $23 per sq yd.

10. 1' 8" x 12' 3" 8" x 21' 3" 1' 8" x 15' 3"

11. Pieced for closets; some is of little or no use.

12. a) 1' 8" x 15' 3"

b) $50.63
c) Yes. At $20 per yard, she has about $3 per yard left over for 94.5 yards. This is enough.

NCTM STUDENT MATH NOTES is published by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 1906 Association Drive, Reston, VA 20191-9988. The five issues a year
appear on the NCTM Web site, www.nctm.org, in September, November, January, March, and May/June. Pages may be reproduced for classroom use without permission.
Editor: Terry Souhrada, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812-2649
Editorial Panel: Hope Florence, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC 29424
Micah Fogel, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, Aurora, IL 60506-1000
Cathryn Hund, St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Overland Park, KS 66215
Jan Robinson, Jack London Middle School, Wheeling, IL 60090
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Production Specialist: Rebecca Totten

6 NCTM Student Math Notes, March 2001