The perimeter of a rectangle is 256 inches. How long are the sides if the length exceeds the width by 16 inches? Mark lets x represent the width of the rectang

Question

The perimeter of a rectangle is 256 inches. How long are the sides if the length exceeds the width by 16 inches?

Mark lets x represent the width of the rectangle and writes the equation 2x + 2(x + 16) = 256. Solving for x, the width of the rectangle is

A.56

 

B.60

C.68

Answer 1

So you are very close to solving the problem.  What you are trying to solve for is 'x' in this problem because it is the smaller of the two sides.  The length in this problem is the term (x + 16) so all we need to solve for is 'x'.

 

- make sure to distribute

- combine like terms

- solve for 'x'

Answer 2

A

 

2x+2(x+16) = 256

2x+2x+32 = 256

4x+32 = 256

4x = 224

x = 56