Question

The length of a rectangle is 7 centimeters greater than the width. If 4 centimeters are added to both the length and the width, the new area would be 98 square centimeters. Find the dimensions of the ORIGINAL rectangle, list the SMALLER dimension first.

Answer 1

3 cm by 10 cm

Explanation:

Assuming the new dimensions are integers, we can look at the factors of 98 to see what they might be.

98 = 1·98 = 2·49 = 7·14

The latter two factors differ by 7, so are the dimensions after 4 is added. The original dimensions are ...

7 - 4 = 3 . . . . cm

14 -4 = 10 . . . . cm

The dimensions of the original rectangle are 3 cm by 10 cm.