Question

the length of a rectangle is three more than two times its width. the perimeter of the rectangle is 36 inches. what is the width and length of the rectangle?

Answer 1

width = 11

length = 25

Explanation:

11 x 2 + 3 = 25

25 + 11 = 36

Answer 2

W = 3 , L = 15

Explanation:

The first step is to puzzle out what is meant by “three times more than twice the width.” At first I assumed that this meant that the length was six times the width, but I think an alternative interpretation would be that the length is twice the width plus three times the width, meaning that the length L is not 6W but rather 5W. So let’s try it that way.

As we know, the circumference of a rectangle is 2W + 2L. We also know , in this problem, that L = 5 W and the total circumference is 36. Therefore, by substitution, we arrive at 2W + 2 (5L) = 36, or 2W + 10 W = 36, or 12W =36, or W = 3. If W = 3, then L = 15