How much area does one of the cat's paws occupy?

Question:

If the weight exerted by all four of its paws on the scale is .25 kilograms per square centimeter, what is the area of one of its paws in square centimeters?

Answer:

The area of one of the cat's paws is 4 cm².

The weight of the cat is 4.0 kilograms and the weight exerted by all four of its paws on the scale is 0.25 kilograms per square centimeter. To calculate the area of one of its paws, we can use the formula:

Pressure (P) = Force (F) / Area (A)

Given that the Force (F) is 4.0 kg and Pressure (P) is 0.25 kg/cm², we can rearrange the formula to find the Area (A):

4.0 kg = 0.25 kg/cm² x A

A = 4.0 kg / 0.25 kg/cm²

A = 16 cm²

Since the total area of the cat's paws is 16 cm² and a cat has 4 paws, the area of one of its paws can be calculated as:

16 cm² / 4 = 4 cm²

Therefore, one of the cat's paws occupies an area of 4 square centimeters.