I don't really understand how I'm supposed to find the width in this problem

Question

Billy wants to build a fence around his garden to keep out the deer. He wants to build a rectangular fence. He has 46 feet of fencing. The length of the garden is seven more than the width. What are the dimensions of his garden?

Answer 1

We can set up an equation that only relies on the width. So the perimeter of any rectangle is 2L + 2W, in our case, the length is 7 more than the width so L = 7 + w. Therefore, the perimeter can be written as 2(7 + W) + 2W.

They tell us we are using 46 ft. of fencing, so that means the perimeter must be 46 feet. So that means our equation at the top must be equal to 46, so we can now write 46 = 2(7+ W) + 2W. Now you can solve for W and you'll be finished!

Answer 2

The length of the fence around the property will be the perimeter.

He has 46 feet of fencing, so the perimeter will be 46 feet.

The length is equal to the width + 7

The perimeter of a rectangle = 2 * the length + 2 * the width

so 46 = 2 * (width + 7) + 2 * width

46 = 4 *width + 14

32 = 4 * width

8 = width

length = width + 7 = 15

dimensions are 15' by 8'