Question

Vanessa uses the expressions (3x2 + 5x + 10) and (x2 – 3x – 1) to represent the length and width of her patio. Which expression represents the area (lw) of Vanessa’s patio?

Answer 1

The area of rectangle with length l and width w is

$A=l\cdot w.$

If the length of rectangle is expressed as $l=3x^2 + 5x + 10$ and the width of rectangle is expressed as $w=x^2-3x-1$, then the area of rectangle is

$A=(3x^2 + 5x + 10)(x^2-3x-1)=3x^4-4x^3-8x^2-35x-10.$

Answer 2

To get the area simply multiply the length by the width.

(3x^2+5x+10)(x^2-3x-1) = 3x^4 - 4x^3 - 8x^2 - 35x - 10