Need help please!!! thanks!!!

Question

The length of a rectangle is 3 inches longer than it is wide. If the area is 54 square inches, what are the dimensions of the rectangle?

 

 

The width, or shorter side is ____ inches

 

The length, or longer side is ____ inches

 

Answer 1

The area of a rectangle can be expressed as A = lw, where "A" is the area, "b" is the base, and "h" is the height.

According the information given in the problem, l = w + 3, and the area of the rectangle is 54 in^2

Let's plug this into our equation:

A = lw
54 = (w + 3) (w)
54 = w^2 + 3w
0 = w^2 + 3w - 54

 

Factor and solve

0 = (w + 9) (w - 6)

w + 9 = 0
w = -9

w - 6 = 0
w = 6



Because a distance cannot be a negative number, w must equal 6.

Therefore, the width is 6 inches, and the length is 9 inches.

 

 

 

Because a distance cannot be a negative number, h must equal 8.

 

Therefore, the height is 8 meters, and the base is 11 meters.