document.write( "Question 386932: The perimeter of a rectangular writing pad is 48cm. The width is 8 cm less than the length. find the length and width \n" ); document.write( "
Algebra.Com's Answer #275567 by gwendolyn(128)\"\" \"About 
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Perimeters of rectangles are found by adding twice the width and twice the height. Therefore, the formula can be written as an equation:
\n" ); document.write( "let P=the rectangle's perimeter
\n" ); document.write( "let W=the rectangle's width
\n" ); document.write( "let L=the rectangle's length
\n" ); document.write( "2W+2L=P
\n" ); document.write( "We know that the perimeter of the writing pad is 48 cm, so this can be substituted into the equation:
\n" ); document.write( "2W+2L=48
\n" ); document.write( "The problem also states that the width is 8 cm less than the length. This can be expressed as an equation as well:
\n" ); document.write( "W=L-8
\n" ); document.write( "The new equation for W can be substituted into the first equation:
\n" ); document.write( "2W+2L=48
\n" ); document.write( "2(L-8)+2L=48
\n" ); document.write( "We can then distribute the 2 over the first set of parentheses:
\n" ); document.write( "2L-16+2L=48
\n" ); document.write( "Next, we can combine the terms containing variables:
\n" ); document.write( "4L-16=48
\n" ); document.write( "Then, we can add 16 to both sides of the equation:
\n" ); document.write( "4L=64
\n" ); document.write( "Finally, we can divide both sides by 4 to isolate the variable.
\n" ); document.write( "L=16
\n" ); document.write( "So, the length is 16.
\n" ); document.write( "According to the second equation we found, the width is the length minus 8.
\n" ); document.write( "16 minus 8 is 8.
\n" ); document.write( "So, the length is 16 and the width is 8. \n" ); document.write( "
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