How many 1 in x 1 in squares would you need to cover the entire shape above? Explain your reasoning. (Assume that you cut the squares as needed when you get to any corners that are not right angles.

Answer:
1008 squares
Step-by-step explanation:
You want to know the number of 1-inch squares that would be required to cover the given irregular area.
The given figure can be decomposed into a rectangle that is 4 feet long and 2 feet wide, with two triangular cut-outs. The base of each of those triangles is ...
4 ft - (2 ft +1 ft) = 1 ft
and the height is marked as 1 ft
Triangle area
The area of a triangle is given by ...
A = 1/2bh
Each triangle has an area of ...
A = 1/2(1 ft)(1 ft) = 1/2 ft²
There are 2 of them, so their total area is ...
2 × (1/2 ft²) = 1 ft²
Rectangle area
The area of the overall rectangle is ...
A = LW
A = (4 ft)(2 ft) = 8 ft²
Shaded area
The shaded area of the figure is the difference between the rectangle area and the total area of the two triangle cut-outs:
area = 8 ft² - 1 ft² = 7 ft²
A foot is 12 inches, so a square foot is ...
A = (12 in)(12 in) = 144 in²
The figure covers 7 square feet, so its total area in square inches is ...
(7 ft²)×(144 in²/ft²) = 1008 in²
You would need 1008 1-inch squares to cover the entire shape.