Which statement is true regarding acres and chains?

• A. 1 acre equals 5x4 chains
• B. 1 acre equals 1x10 chains
• C. 1 acre equals 3x7 chains
• D. 1 acre equals 11x9 chains

Answer: (B)

Think of acres in terms of square chains. An acre is 43,560 square feet, and a chain is 66 feet long. A square chain (66 ft by 66 ft) covers 4,356 square feet, so 10 square chains make 43,560 square feet — one acre. Put differently, a strip 1 chain wide and 10 chains long has an area of 10 square chains, which equals exactly one acre. That makes the statement describing the land as 1 by 10 chains the true one. The other options describe areas of 21 square chains or 99 square chains, which convert to about 2.1 acres and 9.9 acres, respectively, not one acre.