Question

elise is changing the dimensions of her garden. the length is 20 feet longer than its width. if she decreases this length by 8 feet and increases the width by 10 feet, the perimeter will be 172 feet. what are the original dimensions of the garden? what will be the new dimensions of the garden?

Answer 1

Let x be the initial width, then the initial length is x+20.
If Elise decreases this length by 8 feet, she will get the new length  x+20-8=x+12.

 If Elise increases the width by 10 feet, she will get the new width x+10.

The new perimeter will be x+12+x+12+x+10+x+10=4x+44=172, 4x=172-44, 4x=128,  x=128÷4, x=32.

The initial width is 32 ft and the initial length is 32+20=52 ft.

The new width will be 32+10=42 ft, the new length will be 32+12=44 ft.