Question

· The volume of Olivia's rectangular lunchbox is 240 cubic inches. The lunchbox has a height of 3 inches, and its length is 2 inches more than its width. How wide is Olivia's ...

Answer 1

The volume of a cuboid is = length × width × height.

Let the width  of Olivia's lunch box be 'x'.

Hence the length of Olivia's lunch box shall be 'x + 2'

Also the height of the box is given as 3 inches.

The volume of the box is 240 in³

Substituting in the formula we get

$x(x+2)(3) =240$

Dividing by 3 on both sides

$x(x+2)=80$

Exapnding we get

$x^2+2x=80$

Subtracting 80 from both sides

$x^2+2x-80=0$

Factoring

$(x+10)(x-8)=0$

We get

x= -10  or x = 8

But x cannot be negative

So x = 8

Hence the width of the box is 8 inches.

Answer 2

240 divided by 3 divided by 2 = 40in