High School

A solar panel has four rows and can be extended to have an unknown number of columns, [tex]x[/tex]. Write an expression to represent the number of solar cells in the panel.

Answer :

Final answer:

The number of solar cells in a solar panel with four rows and an unknown number of columns, x, it is expressed as the 4x.

Explanation:

To determine the number of solar cells in a solar panel with four rows that can be extended to an unknown number of columns, x, you would use the concept of multiplication, which is basic to mathematics.

The number of items in a grid can be calculated by multiplying the number of rows by the number of columns. Since we know there are four rows and x columns, the expression to give the total number of solar cells is 4 × x or simply 4x.

Each solar cell is a photovoltaic (PV) cell that converts light into electricity, so for every column added, four more PV cells are included, increasing the electrical output of the panel. This expression represents that the number of cells in each row is x, and there are 4 rows in total. Therefore, multiplying the number of columns (x) by the number of rows (4) gives the total number of cells in the panel.