A flower bed is to be 3 m longer than it is wide. The flower bed will an area of 108 m2 . What will | MathCelebrity Forum

A flower bed is to be 3 m longer than it is wide. The flower bed will an area of 108 m2 . What will

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A flower bed is to be 3 m longer than it is wide. The flower bed will an area of 108 m2 . What will its dimensions be?

A flower bed has a rectangle shape, so the area is:
A = lw

We are given l = w + 3

Plugging in our numbers given to us, we have:
108 = w(w + 3)
w^2 + 3w = 108

Subtract 108 from each side:
w^2 + 3w - 108 = 0

Type this problem into our search engine, and we get:
w = (9, -12)

Since length cannot be negative, w = 9.
And l = 9 + 3 --> l = 12

So we have (l, w) = (12, 9)

Checking our work, we have:
A = (12)9
A = 108 <-- Match!
 
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