Question

The perimeter of rectangle equals 74 meters. if the length is 5 more than the width, find the width

Answer 1

To do this you first must make the perimeter equation...

P = Perimeter
L = Length
W= Width

P = 2L + 2W
74 = 2L + 2W

Then, put L in terms of W...
L = W + 5

Next, plug the newly defined definition of L into the previously stated perimeter equation.

P = 2L + 2W
74 = 2L + 2W
74 = 2(W + 5) + 2W

Lastly, solve for W...

P = 2L + 2W
74 = 2L + 2W
74 = 2(W + 5) + 2W
74 = 2W + 10 + 2W
74 = 4W + 10
64 = 4W
W = 16

Therefore, the width is equal to 16 meters.

Answer 2

The perimeter of the rectangle is calculated using the following rule:
perimeter = 2(length + width)

We are given that:
perimeter = 74 meters ............> given I
length is 5 more that width. This means that:
length = width + 5 ..........> given II

Substitute with given I and given II to get the width of the rectangle as follows:
74 = 2(width+5+width)
74/2 = 2*width + 5
37 = 2*width + 5
37-5 = 2*width
32 = 2*width
width = 32/2 = 16 meters

If you want to get the length, we can use given II as follows:
length = width + 5
length = 16 + 5 = 21 meters

Based on the above calculations:
width of rectangle = 16 meters
length of rectangle = 21 meters