Answer:
x = 16 feet
Step-by-step explanation:
I'm guessing the shape given is a rectangle? Anyways, to find the area we multiply the sides, this gives us the equation:
(x - 12)(x - 5) = 44
We can distribute to get
x^2 - 12x - 5x + 60 = 44
x^2 - 17x + 60 = 44
Now, to get the equation equal to zero, we can subtract 44 from both sides:
x^2 - 17x + 16 = 0
To factor this, we are looking for two numbers that multiply to 16 and add up to -17. These two numbers are -1 & -16, therefore, the factored form is:
(x - 1)(x - 16) = 0
We can use the zero product property to say x = 1 and x = 16. We can cross out the solution x = 1, because when plugged in, we get side lengths less than one. So the sole answer is x = 16.
