Question

A rectangular garden measures 25ft by 38ft. Surrounding (and bordering) the garden is a path 2ft wide. Find the area of this path. Be sure to include the correct unit in your answer. (please help!)

Answer 1

Area of the garden = Length x Width

Area of the garden = 25 x 38 = 950 ft²

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Length of the garden and path = Length of the garden + 2 ft on both sides

Length of the garden and path = 25 + 2 + 2 = 29 ft

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Width of the garden and path = Width of the garden + 2 ft on both sides

Width of the garden and path = 38 + 2 + 2 = 42 ft

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Area of the garden and path = Length x Width

Area of the garden and path = 29 x 42 = 1218 ft²

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Area of the path = Area of the garden and path - Area of the garden

Area of the path = 1218 - 950 = 268 ft²

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Answer: 268 ft²

Answer 2

So as the path adds an extra 2 feet to each side I would start this by adding two feet to each part (so 25+2 x 38+2) which leaves you with 27ft by 40ft. Multiply to find this total area, which results in 1080. Now, you want to remove the actual area of the garden itself as this is not part of the path. So 25x38=950. Subtract 1080 by 950. This gives you just the area of the gardens path which would be $130 feet^{2}$