Question

Louis wants to carpet the rectangular floor of his basement. The basement has an area of 980 square feet. The width of the basement is 1/5 its length. What is the length of Louis's basement?

Answer 1

This problem requires a system of equations.

Let x be the length and y be the width.

xy = 980               x = 5y

Substitute 5y for x.

5y(y) = 980
5y² = 980
y² = 980/5
y² = 196
y = √196
y = 14 feet

Substitute 14 for y.

x = 5y
x = 5(14)
x = 70 feet

The length is 70 feet.