Question 1096930
<br>The problem is not clearly defined.  The circles might all be in a row, making the rectangle containing them have dimensions 160x20, making the area 3200.  Or there could be 2 rows of 4 circles each, making the dimensions 80x40, again making the area 3200.<br>
It makes sense that the two answers are the same, because both arrangements result in the same amount of empty space around each circle.<br>
You could stagger the rows and make two rows of 3 circles each with a row of 2 in between; but the increase in width with that arrangement is greater than the decrease in length, so the area with that arrangement is greater.<br>
So I suspect the answer is supposed to be 3200 square cm.... But since the problem is not well defined, we can't be sure.