Final answer:
The width of the rectangular garden is 6 m, and the length is 12 m. These dimensions satisfy the condition that the area is 72 m² and the length is 6 m greater than the width.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the dimensions of the rectangular garden where the length is 6 m greater than the width and the area is 72 m², we can let the width be w meters. Then the length would be w + 6 meters. The area (A) of a rectangle is given by the formula A = length × width, so we can set up the equation w(w + 6) = 72 to find the value of w.
Solving the quadratic equation,
w² + 6w = 72
w² + 6w - 72 = 0
Factor the quadratic equation to find the values of w.
(w + 12)(w - 6) = 0
Set each factor equal to zero and solve for w: w + 12 = 0 or w - 6 = 0
This gives us w = -12 or w = 6. Since width cannot be negative, we choose w = 6 m.
Therefore, the width of the garden is 6 m, and the length is 6 m + 6 m = 12 m.