Question

Jack has a rectangular patio with a length that is one foot less than twice its width. His neighbor Ron's patio has the same width but a length that is 5 feet more than its width. If Jack's patio is 120 square feet and Ron's patio is 104 square feet, how many square feet longer is Jack's patio than Ron's?

Answer 1

Answer:

difference in area = 16 ft²

if you use 8 the difference in length between Jack patio and his neighbor patio will be will be 15 - 13 = 2 ft

if you use 13 the difference i length will be 25 - 18 = 7 ft

Step-by-step explanation:

Jacks rectangular patio

width = a

length = 2a - 1

area = lw

where

l = length

w = width

area = 120 ft²

a(2a - 1)

2a² - a - 120 = 0

(a - 8) (2a + 15)

a = 8 or -15/2

Ron's rectangular patio

width = a

length = a + 5

area = lw

area = 104 ft²

a (a + 5) = 104

a² + 5a -104 = 0

(a + 8)  (a - 13)

a = -8 or 13

How many square feet longer is jack patio longer than Ron's patio is the difference in their area. Therefore,

120 - 104 = 16 ft²

The value 8 or 13 can be used for a since the width a have to be the same.

if you use 8 the difference in length between Jack patio and his neighbor patio will be will be 15 - 13 = 2 ft

if you use 13 the difference i length will be 25 - 18 = 7 ft