SOLUTION: I have tried to figure this one out and can't seem to do it. Can you please help me? The height of the bookcase is 2ft longer than the length of a shelf. If 22ft. of lumber is a

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Question 121543: I have tried to figure this one out and can't seem to do it. Can you please help me?
The height of the bookcase is 2ft longer than the length of a shelf. If 22ft. of lumber is available for the entire unit(including the shelves, but not the back of the bookcase), find the length and height of the unit. Show your equation and solve.
Answer by solver91311(24713) (Show Source):
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You don't say how many shelves. But if there are two interior shelves plus the top and bottom, it works out evenly.

2 shelves, each x feet long = 2x
A top and a bottom, each x feet long = 2x
2 sides, each x + 2 feet long = 2(x + 2) = 2x + 4

And the whole thing adds up to 22 ft.

Shelves are 3 ft and the height is 3 + 2 or 5 feet.

If there are a different number of shelves between the top and the bottom of the bookcase, substitute that number for n in: