How many square tiles of side 40 cm will be required to pave a footpath which is 2 m wide and surrounds a rectangular plot 80 m by 44 m ?

Area of rectangular plot = l x b

= 80 x 44

= 3520 m²

Since the footpath is 2 m wide, it extends 2 m on all sides, increasing both the length and breadth by 4 m in total.

New length = 80 + 4 = 84 m

New breadth = 44 + 4 = 48 m

Area of the outer rectangle = 84 x 48

= 4032 m²

Area of footpath = Area of the outer rectangle - Area of the rectangular plot

= 4032 - 3520

= 512 m²

Since each tile is 40 cm × 40 cm, we first convert the side length into meters:

40 cm = $\dfrac{40}{100}$ = 0.4 m

Area of one tile = (0.4)²

= 0.16 m²

Number of tiles = $\dfrac{\text{area of the footpath}}{\text{area of one tile}}$

= $\dfrac{512}{0.16}$

= 3200

Hence, the number of tiles required is 3200.