Sarah plans to paint a rectangular wall of dimensions 8.7m x 2.3m. A tin of paint costs £16.10 and covers 6 metres squared. Sarah has a budget of £56, can she afford to paint the wall? Explain your reasoning.

(This question would appear on the calculator paper of GCSE Maths) The first step is to calculate the total area of the rectangular wall by multiplying the width and height of the wall: Area (rectangle) = Width x Height = 8.7m x 2.3m = 20.01m² Then, to work out how many tins of paint Sarah needs, we must divide the total area of the wall by the area of wall one tin of paint covers: Number of tins = 20.01m²/6m² = 3.335 . As Sarah cannot buy 0.335 of a tin, she must buy 4 tins to have enough paint. To work out the total cost of the paint required, we must multiply the number of tins by the cost of one tin. Cost of paint = 4 x £16.10 = £64.40 . This cost is greater than Sarah's budget of £56, so she cannot afford to paint the wall.