Response: Therefore, the connection with i hours being the independent variable is 
Serena is unable to paint 400 square feet of wall area within 3.5 hours.
Detailed explanation:
It's provided that
The area she can paint = 60 square feet
Time taken = half an hour = 30 minutes = 0.5 hours
Applying the "Unitary method, it leads to
In 0.5 hours, she is capable of painting = 60 square feet
In 1 hour, she can paint = 
In i hours, she is able to paint = 
Let’s denote the total area she can paint as 'y'.
Thus, the connection with i hours treated as the independent variable would be

Now, Can Serena paint 400 square feet of wall area in 3.5 hours
Substituting y = 400 and i = 3.5 hours helps us determine if they are equivalent.

Therefore, Serena cannot paint 400 square feet of wall space in 3.5 hours.