Question

As seen in the diagram below, Ellie is building a walkway with a width of xx feet to go around a swimming pool that measures 18 feet by 7 feet. If the total area of the pool and the walkway will be 672 square feet, how wide should the walkway be?

Answer 1

4. Solve for the width of the walkway by dividing the walkway area by the perimeter:

Walkway area / Perimeter = Width of the walkway

546 sq ft / 50 ft = 10.92 ft (rounded to the nearest hundredth)

Therefore, the walkway should be approximately 10.92 feet wide.

Explanation:

To find the width of the walkway, we can subtract the area of the pool from the total area of the pool and the walkway.

1. Calculate the area of the pool:

Area = length * width = 18 ft * 7 ft = 126 square feet

2. Subtract the area of the pool from the total area:

Total area - Pool area = Walkway area

672 sq ft - 126 sq ft = 546 sq ft

3. The walkway area is equal to the width of the walkway multiplied by the perimeter of the pool and the walkway. Since the pool and the walkway share the same length and width, the perimeter is given by:

Perimeter = 2 * (length + width) = 2 * (18 ft + 7 ft) = 2 * 25 ft = 50 ft