document.write( "Question 308574: The perimeter of a rectangular concrete slab is 82 feet and its area is 418 square feet. What is the length of the longer side of the slab?\r
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document.write( "I started by making two seperate equations, one for perimeter and one for area. I came up with 2L+2W=82 and L*W=418. I don't know where to go from here.\r
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Algebra.Com's Answer #220638 by rapaljer(4671)![]() ![]() You can put this solution on YOUR website! Simplify the first equation by dividing both sides by 2. \n" ); document.write( "L+W= 41\r \n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "Solve for W: \n" ); document.write( "W=41-L\r \n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "Substitute back into the other equation:\r \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "LW=418 \n" ); document.write( "L(41-L)=418 \n" ); document.write( "41L-L^2-418=0\r \n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "Multiply both sides by -1: \n" ); document.write( "L^2 -41L +418=0\r \n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "The hard part is to find two numbers that multiply to give you 418, and that adds up to 41. The way I teach this is to start with 1 and make a list as follows:\r \n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "1*418 \n" ); document.write( "2*209 \n" ); document.write( "11*38 \n" ); document.write( "19*22\r \n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "This is the combination!\r \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "(L-19)(L-22)=0 \n" ); document.write( "L=19 or L=22\r \n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "This means that 19 is the width and 22 is the length.\r \n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "Dr. Robert J. Rapalje, Retired\r \n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "P.S. Nice problem!!! \n" ); document.write( " |