Final answer:
The width of a rectangular floor with an area of 80 square feet and the length being 2 feet less than the width is found through solving a quadratic equation, resulting in a width of 10 feet.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the width of the floor when the area of a rectangular floor is 80 square feet and the length (L) is 2 feet less than the width (W), we can use the equation L × W = Area to set up an algebraic equation. Since the length is 2 feet less than the width, we express the length as L = W - 2. Substituting the values we get:
W × (W - 2) = 80
This simplifies to a quadratic equation:
W^2 - 2W - 80 = 0
Factoring this quadratic equation, we get:
(W - 10)(W + 8) = 0
Therefore, W can either be 10 or -8. Since width cannot be negative, the width of the floor is 10 feet.