Question

For a rectangle with a perimeter of 20 cm, the width of the rectangle is one-third its length. Use an equation to find the length and width of the rectangle.

Answer 1

Step 1. The perimeter P means adding up all four sides of a rectangle.

Step 2. Let w be the width

Step 3. Let 3w be the length since the width is one-third the length

Step 4. Then P=w+w+3w+3w=8w=20 since the perimeter P is 20 cm.

Step 5. Solving the equation in Step 4 leads to the following steps

Divide by 8 to both sides of the equation

8w%2F8=20%2F8

w=5%2F2 and 3w=15/2 and P=2(5/2+15/2)=20 which is a true statement.

Step 6. ANSWER: The width is 5/2 cm.

Explanation:

I hope the above steps and explanation were helpful.