Question

A box is formed by cutting squares from the four corners of a 7"-wide by 9"-long sheet of paper and folding up the sides. Write an expression in terms of x that represents the width of the base of the box (in inches).

Answer 1

The expression in terms of x that represents the width of the base of the box is 7 inches - 2x inches.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the width of the base of the box, we need to determine the length of the side of the square that is cut from each corner of the paper. Let's call this length x. Since the dimensions of the larger square are twice the dimensions of the smaller square, the length of the larger square is 4 inches times 2, which is 8 inches.

The width of the base of the box is equal to the width of the paper minus twice the length of each side of the square that is cut from the corners. Therefore, the expression in terms of x that represents the width of the base of the box is:

7 inches - 2x inches