Question

The length of a rectangle is 5 inches more than its width, x. The area of a rectangle can be represented by the equation x 2 + 5x = 300. What are the measures of the width and the length?

Answer 1

This is a system of equations. We know that if L is length, L=x+5, and area=L*w, where w=x. So, 2+5x=(x+5)x therefore 2+5x=x^2+5x. Subtracting 5x from both sides, x^2=2, therefore x=sqrt(2). So, the width is sqrt(2) and length=sqrt(2)+5