Question

At a large nursery, a border for a rectangular garden is being built. Designers want the border’s length to be 5 feet greater than its width. A maximum of 180 feet of fencing is available for the border. Write and solve an inequality that describes possible widths of the garden

Answer 1

Let

x--------> the border’s length

y--------> the border’s width

P--------> perimeter of the border

we know that

x=5+y------> equation 1

P=2*[x+y]-----> P=2x+2y

P <=180 ft

(2x+2y) <= 180-------> equation 2

substitute the equation 1 in equation 2

2*[5+y]+2y <= 180

10+2y+2y <= 180

4y <= 180-10

4y <=170

y <=42.5 ft

so

the maximum value of the width is 42.5 ft

for y=42.5 ft

x=42.5+5------> x=47.5 ft

the answer is

the width of the border is less than or equal to 42.5 ft