ANSWER
4 1/5 ft^2 (or 21/5 ft^2)
EXPLANATION
Step 1: 12 ft of fabric that was 2 1/3 wide =
[tex]\begin{gathered} 12\times2\frac{1}{3} \\ \text{ = 12}\times\frac{7}{3} \\ \text{ = 4}\times7 \\ \text{ = 28ft}^2 \end{gathered}[/tex]Step 2: He used 1/4 of the fabric to make a long set of curtains
[tex]\begin{gathered} 28\times\frac{1}{4} \\ \text{ = 7ft}^2 \end{gathered}[/tex]Step 3: The rest of the fabric
[tex]28\text{ - 7 = 21ft}^2[/tex]Step 4: The rest to make 5 short sets
[tex]\begin{gathered} 21\times\frac{1}{5}\text{ } \\ \text{ = }\frac{21}{5} \\ \text{ = 4}\frac{1}{5}ft^2 \end{gathered}[/tex]Hence, the area of the fabric used for each of the short sets is 4 1/5 ft^2.
