SOLUTION: Hi! I have trouble with this word problem. Can you help me? A rectangle and square have the same width, but the rectangles length is 5m longer than the squares. Their area is 133m

Question 38952: Hi! I have trouble with this word problem. Can you help me?
A rectangle and square have the same width, but the rectangles length is 5m longer than the squares. Their area is 133m(squared). Find the dimensions.
I have tried
rectange=l+5
square= l
then I did l+l+5=133
-5=-5
2l=128
i divided by 2 and got
l=64m
I dont think that is right. Can you help me?
If you could help me that would be great, but if not I'll try to work it out differently.
Thanks,
Melissa
Answer by fractalier(6550) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Here's how you do it.
Let w be the width of both.
The square, then, has a length of w also.
The rectangle has a length of w + 5.
Now if we add the areas, we get a total of 133, so here goes...
w^2 + w(w + 5) = 133
2w^2 + 5w - 133 = 0
(2w + 19)(w - 7) = 0
w = -19/2 or w = 7
but distance must be positive so w = 7.
The length of the rectangle is 12.
RELATED QUESTIONS
I am having trouble with rectangles. I get the formula and how to find an area/perimeter... (answered by ankor@dixie-net.com,KMST)

hi! i have a question i need help on about rectangles. this is the problem. a rectangle... (answered by richwmiller)

My son has a homework problem which shows a picture of a 10x12 rectangle. Question 1... (answered by jim_thompson5910)

I'm having trouble with this question: "Given the length of a rectangle is one less than... (answered by rothauserc)

Hello, i was wondering if someone could help me out with this word problem. Im very... (answered by josgarithmetic)

Word Problem Two rectangles have the same wifth. the length of one is 1 foot longer... (answered by stanbon)

I have a problem that seems simple but I'm having an issue solving it. The problem is:... (answered by josgarithmetic,MathLover1)

Here is a word problem....I always have problems with word problems. The width of... (answered by rapaljer)

Hi- Please help me with this word problem: A rectangular field ha a perimeter of 118... (answered by stanbon)