Mr. DeCosta used 54 meters of wire to fence a rectangular garden. The length of the garden is 15 meters. What is the width of the garden?

Question

Mr. DeCosta used 54 meters of wire to fence a rectangular garden. The length of the garden is 15 meters. What is the width of the garden?

Answer 1

The 54 meters of wire to enclose the garden represents the perimeter. To find perimeter of a rectangle, we add twice the length to twice the width. Thus, 2L + 2W = P. The length is 15 meters, so we write the equation:

2 (15) + 2 (W) = 54, 30 + 2W = 54, 2W = 24, W = 12. So, the width is 12 meters.

Check: (2 x 15) + (2 X 12) = 30 + 24 = 54.

Answer 2

54 meters is the perimeter

27 meters is one length plus one width

27 meters is 15 meters plus one width

 

What is the width?