A rectangular field is eight times as long as it is wide. If the perimeter of the field is 1080 feet, what are the dimensions of the field?

Answer 1

Hi Grant,

Let's use the variable w to represent the width of the field. Then we can write the following expression to represent the length of the field: 8w

Also, the perimeter (P) is equal to 2 times the length plus 2 times the width. We can write the following equation to represent the perimeter of the field described in your problem:

1080 feet = 2 • 8w + 2w

Now we can combine like terms and use inverse operations to find the value of the width, w:

1080 = 16w + 2w

1080 = 18w

1080/ 18 = 18w/18

60 feet = w

The width is 60 feet. The length will be 8 • 60 = 480 feet

To verify: 2 • 480 + 2 • 60 = 960 + 120 = 1080 feet

Hope this helps Grant. Let me know if you need any lessons or have other questions.