SOLUTION: A rectangle is such that the lenghts of two of its adjacent sides differ by 5cm. A similar rectangle measures 18cm by 28cm. Find the lenght and breadth of the first rectangle.

Question 534572: A rectangle is such that the lenghts of two of its adjacent sides differ by 5cm. A similar rectangle measures 18cm by 28cm. Find the lenght and breadth of the first rectangle.
Answer by KMST(5328) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Let x be the breadth of the unknown similar rectangle.
The length would be x+5.
Because they are similar, the ratios of corresponding sides are the same.
We could state the the ratio of lengths and the ratio of breadth is the same:

We eliminate pesky denominators by multiplying both sided times a common multiple of the denominators,

to get
--> --> -->
Otherwise we could state the the ratio of length to breadth is the same for both rectangles:
and
Multiplying both sides by 9x would theoretically risk introducing x=0 as an extraneous solution, but x=0 would be rejected even if it was a solution of the equations. So we do it without worrying to get

which is the same equation we solved above, of course.
The breadth of the mystery rectangle is 9 cm, and its length is

RELATED QUESTIONS
A rectangle is such that the lengths of its adjacent sides differ by 5cm. A similar... (answered by KMST)

The adjacent sides of a rectangle differ by 5 feet.If the area of the rectangle is 84... (answered by mananth)

The adjacent sides of a rectangle differ by 7 feet. If the area of the rectangle is 78... (answered by Alan3354)

Adjacent sides of a rectangle differ by 5 ft. If the area of the rectangle is 84 sqft.,... (answered by stanbon)

a rectangle has a perimeter of 18cm. Its lenght is 5cm greater than its width. find the... (answered by mananth)

a rectangle has a perimeter of 18cm its length is 5cm more than the width. find the... (answered by checkley77)

The two sides of a right triangle differ by one. If the hypotenuse is 29cm, then... (answered by MRperkins,palanisamy)

After reducing by an equal amount the length and width of a rectangle which were... (answered by greenestamps)

If a square has a side equal to the perimeter of a rectangle with adjacent sides 4cm and... (answered by ewatrrr)