Answer:
<em>Thus, the dimensions of the metal plate are 10 dm and 8 dm.</em>
Step-by-step explanation:
For a quadratic equation:
The sum of the roots is -b and the product is c. Note the leading coefficient is 1.
We know the perimeter of the rectangular metal plate is 36 dm and its area is 80 dm^2. Being L and W its dimensions, then:
P=2(L+W)=36
A=L.W=80
Note both formulas are closely related to the roots of the quadratic equation, we only need to adjust the data for the perimeter to be exactly the sum of L+W and not double of it.
Thus we use the semi perimeter instead as P/2=L+W=18
The quadratic equation is, then:
Factoring by finding two numbers that add up to 18 and have a product of 80:
The solutions to the equation are:
x=10, x=8
Thus, the dimensions of the metal plate are 10 dm and 8 dm.