The top rectangle has a base b and a height h. The bottom rectangle has a base that is 1/3 of the length of the base of the top rectangle and a height that is 1/2 of the length of the height of the top rectangle. Devin writes the area of the smaller rectangle as the product 1/3b times 1/2h. Tracy rewrites this as 1/6bh. Which of the students’ expressions makes it easier to see how the areas of the rectangles are related? Explain.
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