MEGA Elementary Education Multi-Content Practice Test

What expression should students first use to calculate the total cost of hardwood flooring for two rooms?

1. w ÷ h

2. w x h

3. w x h ÷ a

4. w - h x a

The correct answer is: w x h

To calculate the total cost of hardwood flooring for two rooms, the most appropriate expression involves multiplication. The expression w x h indicates that students would multiply the width (w) of the room by the height (h), which can be understood as calculating the area of the flooring needed for one room. In a real-world application, this area would represent the square footage of hardwood flooring required to cover the floor of a single room. If you are looking to find the total cost of flooring for two rooms, this method is sound, as you can later multiply the area you found by the cost per unit of flooring (after calculating the area for both rooms separately). This approach highlights the importance of understanding the relationship between area and cost when it comes to home improvement projects. While the other options involve division or subtraction—operations not applicable when determining area or total flooring cost—they do not provide an accurate method for calculating the initial area necessary for determining the flooring needed across two rooms.