SOLUTION: A strip of uniform width is to be cut off of both sides and both ends of a sheet of paper that is 21 inches by 4 inches, in order to reduce the size of the paper to an area of 38 s

Question 501488: A strip of uniform width is to be cut off of both sides and both ends of a sheet of paper that is 21 inches by 4 inches, in order to reduce the size of the paper to an area of 38 square inches. Find the width of the strip.
Answer by mananth(16946) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Let strip width be = x
21-2x will be the length after cutting
4-2x will be the size after cutting
(21-2x)(4-2x)=38
84-42x-8x+4x^2=38
4x^2-50x+46=0
Find the roots of the equation by quadratic formula

a= 4 ,b= -50 ,c= 46

b^2-4ac= 2500 + -736
b^2-4ac= 1764

x1=( 50 + 42 )/ 8
x1= 11.5
x2=( 50 -42 ) / 8
x2= 1
logically width = 1 "
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