Mr.P’s Parent Maths Problem of the Week

Hello parents,

The key idea in last week’s problem is that painting time depends on the total surface area being painted (the four walls plus the ceiling), not on the room’s volume. If every dimension is doubled – twice the width, twice the length, and twice the height – then each wall becomes both twice as wide/long and twice as tall, so the area of each wall becomes 4 times larger. The ceiling is also twice as wide and twice as long, so its area becomes 4 times larger as well.

So the painter has 4 times as much area to paint as before. If the original room took 2 days, then the larger room will take 2 × 4 = 8 days at the same pace.

Well done to everyone who got this answer.

Solutions will be published in the following week’s edition of the Barrow Hills Bulletin.

Problem 7: 27 February 2026