Question

vita wants to center a towel bar on her door that is 27 1/2 inches wide . she determines that the distance from each end of the towel bar to the end of the door is 9 inches. write and solve an equation to find the length of the towel bar

Answer 1

Vita can center the towel bar on her 27 1/2-inch wide door by ensuring it is 9.5 inches long. This is done by deducting the combined distances from the ends of the towel bar to the door edges (18 inches) from the total width of the door.

Step-by-step explanation:

Vita wants to find the length of the towel bar that she wants to center on a door that is 27 1/2 inches wide, with the distance from each end of the towel bar to the end of the door being 9 inches. To solve for the length of the towel bar, we denote the length of the towel bar by x. Then, we can set up an equation where the sum of the distances from both ends of the towel bar to the door edges and the length of the towel bar itself equals the width of the door.

The equation will be:

9 inches + x + 9 inches = 27 1/2 inches

We combine the known distances to simplify the equation:

18 inches + x = 27 1/2 inches

To find x, we subtract 18 inches from both sides of the equation:

x = 27 1/2 inches - 18 inches

Converting 27 1/2 inches to a decimal, we have 27.5 inches. Thus:

x = 27.5 inches - 18 inches

x = 9.5 inches

Therefore, the length of Vita's towel bar should be 9.5 inches long to be centered on her 27 1/2-inch wide door.

Answer 2

The length of the towel bar is 9.5 inches.

Explanation

Suppose, the length of the towel bar is
`x` inches.

The distance from each end of the towel bar to the end of the door is 9 inches. So, the total width of the door will be:
`[x+(9*2)] = (x+18)inches`

Given that, the width of the door is
`27(1)/(2)` inches or 27.5 inches. So, the equation will be........

`x+18=27.5\\ \\  x=27.5-18= 9.5`

Thus, the length of the towel bar will be 9.5 inches.