solve word problem

Question

A corner lot that originally was square lost 185 m2 of area when one of the adjacent streets was widened by 3 m and the other was widened by 5 m. Find the new dimensions of the lot. (hint: Let x= length of a side of the original square lot)

Answer 1

Let x = original side measure of square lot

Let a = original area

 

x^2 = a

(x - 3)(x - 5) = a - 185

a = x^2 - 8x +15 + 185 = x^2 - 8x + 200

x^2 = x^2 - 8x + 200

0 = -8x + 200

8x = 200

x = 25

 

The original square corner lot had a side measure of 25 m. Therefore the area of the corner lot would be a = x^2 = 25^2 = 625m^2

 

If we subtract 3 meters from one side & five meters from the other side, then we have a corner lot with dimensions 22 meters by 20 meters.