Solution:
Consider the following diagram of the rectangular field:
The perimeter P of a polygon is the sum of its sides, thus we can express the perimeter of the given rectangular field as:
where P = 312 yards, L = 83 yards, and L is unknown. Then, replacing the given data into the previous equation, we get:
this is equivalent to:
solving for 2W, we get:
solving for W, we get:
we can conclude that the correct answer is:
The width of the rectangular field is 73 yards.