Final answer:
To find the width of the room, set up an equation using the given information. Solve for x, which represents the width. The width of the room is 12 feet.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the width of the room, we can set up an equation using the given information. Let's assume the width of the room is x. Since the length is three times the width, the length would be 3x. The area of a rectangle is found by multiplying the length and width, so we can set up the equation 3x * x = 432. Simplifying this equation, we get 3x² = 432. Dividing both sides by 3, we have x² = 144. Taking the square root of both sides, we get x = 12. Therefore, the width of the room is 12 feet.