Question

A solar collector is 2,0 m long by 1,5 m wide. It is held in place

Answer 1

Answer:

The width of the frame is 0.0746 meters

Step-by-step explanation:

We are told that after the frame has been attached to the solar collector, the area that is left exposed is $2.5m^2$  . As we see in the figure, the dimensions of this area are

$(w-2x)$ and  $(l-2x)$

where $x$ is the width of the frame.

The product of these dimensions must equal the exposed area:

$(w-2x)(l-2x)=2.5m^2$

Now since $w=1.5m$ and $l=2m$ we have:

$(1.5-2x)(2-2x)=2.5$

we expand this and solve for x using the quadratic formula:

$4x^2-7x+3=2.5$

$4x^2-7x+0.5=0$

we get two solutions:

$x=1.6753$

$x=0.0746$

We take the second solution i.e $x=0.0746$, because first one gives a width larger than the dimensions of the solar collector which cannot be possible.

Thus the width of the frame is 0.0746 meters.