Answer:
The total number of pennies Malik used to make the three squares is 149
Step-by-step explanation:
Let's recall that a perfect square of coins can be made of the same number of rows and columns, therefore:
x = Number of columns
x = Number of rows
Therefore,
x² + 13 = y
y has to be a whole number, which square root is also a whole number.
If x = 1, then y is 14 (1 + 13) and 14 is not a perfect square.
if x = 2, then y is 17 (4 + 13) and 17 is not a perfect square,
if x = 3, then y is 22 (9 + 13) and 22 is not a perfect square,
if x = 4, then y is 29 (16 + 13) and 29 is not a perfect square,
if x = 5, then y is 38 (25 + 13) and 38 is not a perfect square,
if x = 6, then y is 49 (36 + 13) and 49 is a perfect square because √49 is 7.
Now we need to calculate if the second condition is met:
if x = 6 and y = 7, then ײ + 28 = 64 (36 + 28) or y² + 15 = 64 (49 + 15) and 64 is also a perfect square because √64 is 8.
The total number of pennies Malik used to make the three squares is 36 + 49 + 64
The total number of pennies Malik used to make the three squares is 149.
