Question

A rectangular plot of land has a short side that is

one-third the length of the long side. If the area
of the plot of land is 120,000 ft , what are the
dimensions of the lot? (Area of a rectangle)

Answer 1

1. Let's call the short side
`x` and the long side
`y`.

2. The problem says that the short side is 1/3 the length of the long side. So, you can write the following expression:

`x=(1)/(3)y`

3. The formula for calculate the area of a rectangle is:

`A=xy`

4. Then, you must substitute
`x=(1)/(3)y` and the value of the area into the formula and solve for
`y` (The long side):

`120,000=((1)/(3)y)(y)\\120,000=(1)/(3)y^(2)\\y=√((120,000)(3))\\y=600`

5. Now, you can calculate
`x` (The short side):

`x=((1)/(3))(600)\\x=200`

Therefore, the answer is: 600 feet by 200 feet.