document.write( "Question 125930: Hi, if you have the area (42 m2 - metres squared) of a rectange, can you tell me what the sides will add up to??? Thanks Scott
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Algebra.Com's Answer #92296 by bucky(2189) ![]() You can put this solution on YOUR website! What do the sides add up to??? \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "You can't tell from the information given. Let me explain with a couple of examples. \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "Suppose the rectangle has sides of: length = 7 m and width = 6 m \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "If you multiply these two together you get an area of 42 m^2. And if you add the 4 sides you \n" ); document.write( "get a total of 6 + 7 + 6 + 7 = 26 m \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "Next suppose the rectangle has sides of: length = 42 m and width = 1 m \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "If you multiply these two together you get an area of 42 m^2. But if you add the 4 sides you \n" ); document.write( "get a total of 1 + 42 + 1 + 42 = 86 m \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "This shows that you can't be sure of what the sides are if you are just given the area. \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "Hope this helps you to see that you can't tell the total of the perimeter (total of the sides) \n" ); document.write( "if you are just given the area of a rectangle. You need some other information. \n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " |