SOLUTION: COMPARING AREAS a wire 360in long is cut into two pieces. one piece is formed into a square and the other is formed into a circle. if the two figures have the same area, what are

Algebra.Com
Question 829937: COMPARING AREAS
a wire 360in long is cut into two pieces. one piece is formed into a square and the other is formed into a circle. if the two figures have the same area, what are the lengths of the two pieces of wire(to the nearest tenth of an inch)

Answer by Edwin McCravy(20056)   (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!

The area of the square is 
The area of the circle is 

The perimeter of the square is 
The circumference of the circle is 



So  



So  

That equation can be divided through by 2, so we have

    

So we have this system of two equations in two unknowns:



Solve the bottom equation for one of the letters and substitute
it in the first equation, getting a quadratic.
You'll get two solutions for (s,r):

First solution:
,      

Second solution
 ,     

We ignore the second solution 

The perimeter of the square is 
The circumference of the circle is 

As a check add those together and you get 360.

Answers rounded to the nearest tenth of an inch: 

Length of piece formed into a square = 190.9 inches
Length of piece formed into a circle = 169.1 inches 

Edwin

RELATED QUESTIONS

COMPARING AREAS A WIRE 390 IN. LONG IS CUT INTO TWO PIECES. ONE PIECE IS FORMED INTO A... (answered by CharlesG2)
Comparing Areas: A wire 360 inches long is cut into two pieces. One piece is formed... (answered by solver91311)
Swore 360 inches long is cut into two pieces. One piece is formed into a square and the... (answered by josgarithmetic,solver91311)
a wire 360 in. long is cut into two pieces. one piece is formed into a square, and the... (answered by KMST)
A wire 360 in long is cut into two pieces. One piece is formed into a square and the... (answered by Fombitz)
A wire 350 in. long is cut into two pieces. One piece is formed into a square and the... (answered by oscargut)
A wire 310 in. long is cut into two pieces. One piece is formed into a square and the... (answered by ankor@dixie-net.com)
A wire 370 in. long is cut into two pieces. One piece is formed into a square and the... (answered by ikleyn)
Hi! May I get help with this problem? A wire 220 in. long is cut into two pieces. One... (answered by solver91311)