Question

A rectangle is three times as long as it is wide. The perimeter is 40 metres. Find the width of the rectangle.

Answer 1

To find the width of the rectangle, we use the perimeter formula P = 2l + 2w, where w is the width. Solving the equation 2(3x) + 2x = 40, we find that the width is 5 meters.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question asks us to find the width of a rectangle whose perimeter is 40 metres and whose length is three times its width. We start by letting the width be x meters. Therefore, the length is 3x meters. The formula for the perimeter of a rectangle is P = 2l + 2w, where l is the length and w is the width. Given that the perimeter is 40 meters, we can set up the equation 2(3x) + 2x = 40.

Simplifying this equation gives us:

• 6x + 2x = 40
• 8x = 40
• x = 5

Therefore, the width of the rectangle is 5 meters.