A picture is copied onto a sheet of paper 8.5 inches by 10 inches. A 1.5 inch margin is left all around. What area in square inches does the picture cover?

Step 1: Understand the dimensions

• Sheet size = 8.5 inches × 10 inches
• Margin on all sides = 1.5 inches

Step 2: Subtract margins from both width and height

Width after removing margins = 8.5 - 2 × 1.5 = 8.5 - 3 = 5.5 inches
Height after removing margins = 10 - 2 × 1.5 = 10 - 3 = 7 inches

Step 3: Calculate the area of the picture

Area = width × height = 5.5 × 7 = 38.5 square inches

Answer: The picture covers 38.5 square inches of area on the sheet.

This is a typical geometry word problem involving margins and effective area. Always subtract the margin from both sides (left + right, top + bottom) when computing the actual usable width and height.