Question

The perimeter of a rectangle is 36 feet. The length is 2 feet more than 3 times the width. What are the dimensions of the rectangle?

Answer 1

Explanation:

The perimeter (P) of a rectangle is equal to the sum of twice the length and twice the width.

For this problem, let x be the width.

Then because the length is 2 less than 3 times the width

The length is 3x - 2

Therefore, P = 2x + (2)(3x - 2) = 36

Solving this for x gives:

2x + 6x - 4 = 36

8x - 4 = 36

8x = 40

x = 5

Therefore, the width = x = 5 feet

And the length = 3x - 2 = (3)(5) - 2 = 13 feet