Question

Hung Lam plans to enclose a rectangle area for his chickens in his back yard using the sides of his apartment building for 2 of the sides, If hung lam has exactly 40 feet of chicken wire, what's the largest area, in square feet, he can enclose for his chickens

Answer 1

The length of the wire = 40 feet, which enclosed 2 sides (length and width)

Then, length + width = 40

The area of the rectangle = length x width

Let the width = x and the length = y, then

x + y = 40 and x * y = ?

We will use the first equation to find x in terms of y

Subtract y from both sides

x + y - y = 40 - y

x = 40 - y

Now the area will be the product of y and (40 - y)

If y = x, then each one will be 40/2 = 20

Then the area = 20 x 20 = 400 feet^2