SOLUTION: A rug is to fit in a room so that a border of even width is left on all four sides. If the room is 13 feet by 21 feet, and the area of the rug is 153 square feet, how wide will the

Algebra ->  Customizable Word Problem Solvers  -> Geometry -> SOLUTION: A rug is to fit in a room so that a border of even width is left on all four sides. If the room is 13 feet by 21 feet, and the area of the rug is 153 square feet, how wide will the      Log On

Ad: Over 600 Algebra Word Problems at edhelper.com


    

Question 1128941: A rug is to fit in a room so that a border of even width is left on all four sides. If the room is 13 feet by 21 feet, and the area of the rug is 153 square feet, how wide will the border be?
Answer by josgarithmetic(39617) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
-------------------------------------------------------------------
A rug is to fit in a room so that a border of even UNIFORM width is left on all four sides. If the room is 13 feet by 21 feet, and the area of the rug is 153 square feet, how wide will the border be?
------------------------------------------------------------------

x, the width of the surrounding border

Rug Area, %2813-2x%29%2821-2x%29
Rug Area, GIVEN as 153 square feet

highlight_green%28%2813-2x%29%2821-2x%29=153%29
-
273-42x-26x%2B4x%5E2=153
4x%5E2-68x%2B273=153
4x%5E2-68x%2B120=0
x%5E2-17x%2B30=0
%28x-2%29%28x-15%29=0

highlight%28x=2%29
.
.