Question

The length of the short hallway is 1 foot less than twice the width. The area of the hallway is 120 square feet. Find the length and width of the hallway.

Answer 1

Width = 8 feet

Length = 15 feet

Explanation:

Let length be l and the width be w. We can write 2 equations and solve for length and width of the hallway.

1. l = 2w - 1

2. lw = 120

Putting Equation 1 into Equation 2, we can solve for w:

`lw=120\\(2w-1)w=120\\2w^2-w-120=0\\w = 8,-(15)/(2)`

Width can't be negative, so we take w = 8

Using equation 1, we get l:

l = 2(8) - 1

l = 15