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Community Garden Planning

The Oakridge Neighborhood Association is planning a new community garden. They have a rectangular plot of land that measures 15 meters by 20 meters.

They plan to divide the garden as follows:

  • 1/2 of the total area will be used for vegetable plots
  • 1/4 of the total area will be used for a flower garden
  • 1/8 of the total area will be used for a composting area
  • The remaining area will be used for pathways

The association needs to buy fencing to surround the entire garden and mulch for the pathways.

🌱 Community Garden 🌱 20 meters 15 meters 🥕🍅 Vegetables 1/2 Area 🌸🌻 Flowers 1/4 Area 🍂 Compost 1/8 👣 Pathways 1/8 📋 Garden Shopping List: • Fencing goes all the way around the outside. • Mulch goes ONLY on the pathways.

Questions

(a) What is the area (in square meters) that will be used for pathways?

(b) How many meters of fencing will be needed to surround the entire garden?

(c) If mulch costs $5 per square meter, how much will it cost to cover all the pathways?

Solution

Let’s approach this step-by-step:

1. First, calculate the total area of the garden:
15 m × 20 m = 300 square meters

2. Now, let’s calculate the areas for each section:
• Vegetable plots: 1/2 of 300 = 150 sq m
• Flower garden: 1/4 of 300 = 75 sq m
• Composting area: 1/8 of 300 = 37.5 sq m

3. To find the pathway area:
(a) Total allocated area: 150 + 75 + 37.5 = 262.5 sq m
Remaining area (pathways): 300 – 262.5 = 37.5 sq m

4. For the fencing:
(b) Perimeter = 2(length + width) = 2(15 + 20) = 2(35) = 70 meters

5. For the mulch cost:
(c) Area of pathways = 37.5 sq m
Cost = 37.5 × $5 = $187.50

Therefore:
(a) The area used for pathways is 37.5 square meters.
(b) 70 meters of fencing will be needed.
(c) The mulch for the pathways will cost $187.50.

🌱 Garden Solution 🌱 20 meters 15 meters 🥕🍅 Vegetables 150 sq m 🌸🌻 Flowers 75 sq m 🍂 Compost 37.5 sq m 👣 Pathways 37.5 sq m 📋 Garden Project Solutions: 🚧 Total Fencing needed: 70 meters 💰 Total Mulch cost: $187.50