Question

The Pretty Pool company is building a pool in

Michael's back yard. The pool is to be 8 ft shorter than
it is wide and cover 240 square feet of the back yard.
What is the width of the pool?

Answer 1

• 20 feet

Explanation:

The sides of rectangle are:

• w and w - 8

The area is the product of adjacent sides:

• A = w(w - 8) = 240

Solve the equation for w:

• w² - 8w = 240
• w² - 8w + 16 = 256
• (w - 4)² = 16²
• w - 4 = 16
• w = 20