SOLUTION: The area of a rectangle is 154 sq. Ft. If its width is 3 ft. less than its length what are its dimensions? I need to use a quadratic formula to solve it. ty

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Start with the formula for the area of a rectangle:

You are told that the width, W is 3 ft. less than the length, L, so this can be written as:
so now you can replace W with (L-3) and write:
and you are also told that the area is 154 sq.ft., so...
Simplify.
Subtract 154 from both sides.
There's your quadratic equation and it can be solve by factoring.
Applying the zero products principle, we get:
or so that...
or Use only the positive value as lengths are positive quantities.
and...



The dimensions of the rectangle are:
Length = 14 ft. and width = 11 ft.
Check:


sq.ft.