Rationalizing the denominator, simply means "getting rid of that pesky root at the bottom", and we do so by simply multiplying it by something to take it out, of course, we multiply the bottom, we have to also multiply the top,

set up an equation for the perimeter
l = length w = width
2l + 2w = 64
set up another equation as you know the length is 3 times the width
w = 3l
subsitute w = 3l into the 2l + 2w = 64
2l + 2(3l) = 64
solve for l
2l + 6l = 64
8l = 64
<em><u>length</u></em><em><u> </u></em><em><u>=</u></em><em><u> </u></em><em><u>8</u></em>
subsitute into w = 3l
w = 3(8)
<em><u>width</u></em><em><u> </u></em><em><u>=</u></em><em><u> </u></em><em><u>2</u></em><em><u>4</u></em>
A = 1/2 bh
A = 1/2 (21)(8)
A = 1/2 (168)
A = 84