Question

What is the width of this shape

Answer 1

We see that the area is 159 3/8 and the length is 18 3/4.

Because the area is the length*width, to find the width, we must divide the area by the length.

Think of it this way:
$A = l*w$

Divide l on both sides:
$\frac{A}{l} = w$

And w is what we're looking for.
So, divide 159 3/8 by 18 3/4. 

You should get that the width is 8.5 feet :)