Question

A SQUARE CARPET IS LAID IN ONE CORNER OF A RECTANGULAR ROOM, LEAVING STRIPS OF UNCOVERED FLOOR 2M WIDE ALONG ONE SIDE AND 1M ALONG OTHER . THE AREA OF THE ROOM IS 56m SQUARED .FIND THE DIMENSIONS OF THE CARPET

Answer 1

Explanation:

A square has equal sides. Let x represent the length of each side of the square carpet. The diagram representing the room and the carpet is shown in the attached photo. Therefore, the length of the room would be (x + 2)m while the width of the room would be (x + 1)m

Since the area of the room is 56m², it means that

(x + 2)(x + 1) = 56

x² + x + 2x + 2 = 56

x² + 3x + 2 - 56 = 0

x² + 3x - 54 = 0

x² + 9x - 6x - 54 = 0

x(x + 9) - 6(x + 9) = 0

x - 6 = 0 or x + 9 = 0

x = 6 or x = - 9

Since the dimension of the carpet cannot be negative, then x = 6

The dimension of the carpet is 6m × 6m