A rectangle has area of 72 square units. What is the perimeter?

Question

If there is a rectangle that has 72 square units. What is the perimeter?

 

Answer 1

Please see excellent response by Tom F. Below.

The question is unanswerable as stated. 

Answer 2

Hi Amber,

 

Here is how you find Perimeter

 

p = 2l + 2w    equation(1) //l is length and w is width

 

Here is how you find area

 

a = lw = 72 equation(2)

 

=> l = 72/w equation(3)

 

Now substitute the value of l in equation(3) to the value of l in equation(1) and you have

 

p = 2(72/w) + 2w

 

<=> p = 2(w² + 72)/w

 

I hope this helps

Answer 3

Hi Amber,

 

Seems like a piece of information may be missing

 

A=lw

 

72 = lw

 

we could pick a value for the length, say 9

 

then

 

72 = 9 * 8      (lenght would be 9 and width would be 8

 

but we could have also picked a length of 12

 

then

 

72 = 12 * 6  (length would be 12 and width would be 6

 

so we can come up with different answers

 

I think some information is missing that would lead us to one answer.

 

Hope this helps