Area

On a sunny day in Eureka Shores, Maya, Zoey, Liam, and Maya's mom ventured into the town's whimsical shop, "Magic Carpets & More," with a mission in mind—to pick out a dazzling new carpet for Maya's room. The shop's entrance was adorned with enchanted fabric that seemed to dance in the breeze, and the group was more than eager to go inside.

Maya, with her eyes sparkling like stars, led the way to the carpet section. She had a dream—she wanted her room to be a launchpad to the stars because, when she grew up, she was going to be an astronaut. The shop was a magical maze of colors and patterns, but as Maya explored, her heart skipped a beat when she spotted a carpet that looked like a patch of the night sky.

The space rug twinkled with imaginary constellations, and a smiling crescent moon seemed to wink at Maya. She couldn't contain her excitement. "Look, Mom! It's perfect! Now I can practice being an astronaut every day in my room!" Maya exclaimed, her imagination already soaring to new heights. As Maya's mom nodded with a warm smile, the friends helped roll out the space rug, imagining Maya's room turning into a galaxy of dreams and adventures.

Right before they checked out, Maya’s mom interrupted, “Wait! Everyone, we need to measure the area of the rug to make sure it fits in Maya’s room.”

“Area? What do you mean, Mom?” Maya was confused. Why couldn’t she just buy her space rug. It was perfect!

Maya’s mom chuckled, “I know you love the rug, but it needs to fit in your room, right? Your room has around 20 square feet to fit it.”

“What do you mean square feet?” Liam asked politely, “I mean, is that just the unit of area?”

“You’re right, Liam! The unit of area is square feet, and as for what area is, it’s quite simple. Area is the total space taken up by a flat surface or the shape of an object.”

"Let's start by measuring the carpet," Liam suggested, unfurling a tape measure. "The length is 5 feet, and the width is 4 feet. To find the area, we simply multiply the length by the width. Those are the sizes of the two sides of this rectangle."

As the group gathered around, Maya grinned with anticipation. "So, what's the magical area of our cosmic carpet, Liam?"

Liam calculated, "The area is 20 square feet! It's perfect for your room."

Zoey, with a twinkle in her eye, chimed in, "It's fascinating how knowing the area helps us understand how much space the carpet takes up. It's like fitting a piece of the universe right into your room, Maya!"

And so, Maya was able to get her perfect carpet, and it looked dazzling in her room. It even had a glow in the dark effect, so at nighttime, Maya didn’t even have to look outside her window to see the glimmering stars.