The perimeter of a rectangle is 38" . If the length is 3" more than the width,find the width.

Question

The perimeter of a rectangle is 38" . If the length is 3" more than the width,find the width.

Answer 1

Hello Angelica,

Let's assign some expressions for the length and width of the rectangle.

Let the width equal x

Let the length equal x + 3

Next, the formula for determining the perimeter of a rectangle is as follows:

P = 2(L + W) or P = 2(L) + 2(W) where P equals the perimeter, L equals the length, and W equals the width.

You might be asking why we need this formula when we already know the perimeter, but this is the way to find the actual values of the length and width. Therefore:

P = 2(L) + 2(W)

38 = 2(x + 3) + 2(x)

38 = 2x + 6 + 2x

38 = 4x + 6

32 + 4x

x = 8 <------This is the rectangle's width

To determine the length all we need to do is to substitute the value of 8 for x.

Length:

x + 3

8 + 3

11 <------This is the rectangle's length

Now, we need to check our work.

P = 2(L) + 2(W)

38 = 2(11) + 2(8)

38 = 22 + 16

38 = 38

I hope this helps and that you have a great week. Feel free to ask any additional questions you have about this solution. Best!