Final answer:
The width of the rectangle is 5.5 cm, which is found by using the perimeter formula and the fact that the length is double the width.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is attempting to find the width of a rectangle given that the length is double the width and the perimeter is 33 cm. To solve this problem, we can use the formula for the perimeter of a rectangle, which is P = 2l + 2w, where P is the perimeter, l is the length, and w is the width. The problem states that l = 2w, so we can substitute this into our perimeter formula to get P = 2(2w) + 2w = 6w. Since we know the perimeter is 33 cm, we can set up the equation 33 = 6w and solve for w.
Dividing both sides of the equation by 6, we find that w = 33 / 6, which simplifies to w = 5.5. Therefore, the width of the rectangle is 5.5 cm.