word problem

Question

a rectangular parking lot has a length that is 3 yards greater than the width the area of the parking lot is 270 square yards what is the length and the width?

Answer 1

Let x be the width

So then the length is x + 3.

 

The area is x (x + 3).  That's equal to 270.  So that gives us an equation:

 

x (x + 3) = 270

x² + 3x = 270

x² + 3x - 270 = 0

 

Factor:

(x + 18)(x - 15) = 0

 

So x = -18 or x = 15.

 

But the width can't be negative, so only x = 15 makes sense.

 

So the width is 15 yards and the length is 3 yards greater, or 18 yards.