Final answer:
To find the area of the rectangular city block with a perimeter of 0.48 kilometers and being three times as long as it is wide, solve the perimeter equation to find the width (60 m) and length (180 m), and calculate the area as 10,800 square meters.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is asking to determine the area of a rectangular city block based on its perimeter and the fact that it is three times as long as it is wide. The perimeter (P) of a rectangle is given by the formula P = 2l + 2w, where l is the length and w is the width. If the perimeter is 0.48 kilometers, or 480 meters, and the length is three times the width, we can express the length as 3w and the width as w. Thus, the formula becomes 480 = 2(3w) + 2w, which simplifies to 480 = 8w. Solving for w gives us w = 60 meters. Therefore, the length (l) is 3 × 60 = 180 meters. The area (A) of the rectangle is found by multiplying the length by the width: A = l × w. The area of the block is 180 × 60 = 10,800 square meters.