Factoring to Solve Quadratic Equations

Question

The area of the rubber coating for a flat roof was 96 ft^2. The rectangular frame the carpenter built for the flat roof ha dimensions such that the length is 4 feet longer than the width. What are the dimensions of the frame?

Answer 1

The easy way to solve this is to assume that you are dealing with whole feet so all you need to do is find 2 factors of 96 which are 8 and 12

The longer way is to solve (x+4)x= 96

x^2+4x -96=0

(x+12)(x-8) =0. X=8 , x+4=12

Answer 2

w*(w+4)=96

w^2+4w=96

w=8

L=12