The area of a playground is 204 yd. the width of the playground is 5yd longer than its length. Find the length and width of the playground .

Question

It is a word problem pertaining to quadratic equations and functions . I need help 

Answer 1

Assuming that the shape of the playground is rectangular, we know that the area of a rectangle is length x width.

 

Let the length = x

 

width = x + 5

 

x(x + 5) = 204

 

x² + 5x = 204

 

x² + 5x - 204 = 0

 

(x + 17)(x - 12) = 0

 

x = -17 and x = 12

 

However, since x represents the length of the playground, length cannot be negative. The only value possible is x = 12.

 

Therefore, the playground has a length of 12 yd and a width of 12 + 5 = 17 yd.