When calculating the area of the southeast quarter of the northeast quarter of the southwest quarter of a public land survey section, what is the total area?

In a public land survey system, a section typically measures 640 acres, which is a square mile. To calculate the area of specified subdivisions within that section, you can follow the hierarchical breakdown by quarters.

1. The southwest quarter of the section is (640 , \text{acres} / 4 = 160 , \text{acres}).
2. The northeast quarter of that southwest quarter calculates to (160 , \text{acres} / 4 = 40 , \text{acres}).
3. Finally, the southeast quarter of the northeast quarter gives you (40 , \text{acres} / 4 = 10 , \text{acres}).

Therefore, the area of the southeast quarter of the northeast quarter of the southwest quarter of the section is indeed 10 acres, confirming that the correct answer is appropriately identified.