SOLUTION: I'm stumped on this story problem. Two adjoining garden plots have a total area of 256sqf are enclosed with 80ft of fencing. One plot is square but the other is a rectangular plot

Algebra ->  Rectangles -> SOLUTION: I'm stumped on this story problem. Two adjoining garden plots have a total area of 256sqf are enclosed with 80ft of fencing. One plot is square but the other is a rectangular plot       Log On


   

Question 848069: I'm stumped on this story problem. Two adjoining garden plots have a total area of 256sqf are enclosed with 80ft of fencing. One plot is square but the other is a rectangular plot with the length 3 times as large as the width. Determine the length and width of each garden plot. laylowmaxx@gmail.com thanks for any help
Answer by josgarithmetic(39617) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
---unfinished---

Not shown here, drew x by x square adjoined to a w by 3w rectangle, and showed the rectangle longer than the square. There is an unadjoined length on the rectangle of 3w-x. I might later create and upload a picture of this on an image host site.

Total area, x%5E2%2Bw%2A3w=256
highlight_green%28w%5E2%2B3w%5E2=256%29

Fencing is perimeter.
2x%2Bx%2B%283w-x%2B3w%2B2w%29=80
simplifies to 2x%2B8w=80
and to highlight_green%28x%2B4w=40%29

Two equations and two unknowns, highlighted in green. I have not yet tried to solve that as a system...