Question

The length of a rectangle is 3 yd less than twice the width, and the area of the rectangle is 44 yd^2 Find the dimensions of the rectangle.

Answer 1

width: 5.5 yd; length: 8 yd

Explanation:

Let w represent the width of the rectangle in yards. Then 2w-3 is the length and the area is the product of length and width:

w(2w-3) = 44

2w^2 -3w -44 = 0 . . . . put the equation into standard form

(w+4)(2w -11) = 0 . . . . . factor the equation

w = -4 or 11/2 . . . . . . . . the negative solution is extraneous

Then the length is 2·(11/2) -3 = 8.

The width of the rectangle is 5.5 yards; the length is 8 yards.