SOLUTION: A rectangle has a length that is 3 feet longer than is width. Its perimeter is 26 feet. What is the width of the rectangle?

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Question 845194: A rectangle has a length that is 3 feet longer than is width. Its perimeter is 26 feet. What is the width of the rectangle?
Answer by pmesler(52) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
First let's state what the formula for the perimeter for a rectangle is.
P = 2L + 2W.
From the problem, we know that the length is 3 more than the width. Because it says "3 more" that tells us to add three to the width which we still don't know and we'll call w.
Therefore, let w = width and l(length) = w+3.
The perimeter P = 26 ft.
Now, we simply plug in the values into the formula and solve for w.
26 = 2(w+3) + 2w
Use Distributive property to simplify the expression for length
26 = 2w+6 + 2w.
Combine like terms
26 = 4w + 6.
Subtract each side by 6
20 = 4w
Divide each side by 4
5 = w.
Therefore the width is 5 ft.