Question

Patty used five sections of fencing to

build a rectangular garden.
• two 4 ft sections
• two 6 ft sections
• one 8 ft section
She used all of the sections without
cutting any. Which of these could be the
dimensions of Patty's garden?

A 4 ft and 10 ft
B 4 ft and 12 ft
C 6 ft and 8 ft
D 8 ft and 12 ft

Answer 1

answer: D 8ft and 12ft

Answer 2

Let's start by trying out different combinations and see if they give us a rectangle:

- If we use the two 4 ft sections as the width, we have 8 ft. For the length, we can use one of the 6 ft sections, which gives us a length of 6 ft. However, we still have a 6 ft section left that we cannot use to complete the rectangle. This combination doesn't work.

- If we use the two 6 ft sections as the width, we have 12 ft. For the length, we can use one of the 4 ft sections, which gives us a length of 4 ft. However, we still have an 8 ft section left that we cannot use to complete the rectangle. This combination doesn't work.

- If we use the 8 ft section as the width, we have 8 ft. For the length, we need to use both 6 ft sections, which gives us a length of 12 ft. We used all sections and we have a rectangle. This combination works.

Therefore, Patty's garden could be 8 ft by 12 ft.