SOLUTION: A rectangular piece of cardboard, whose area is 864 cm squared, is made into an open box by cutting a 3-centimeter square from each corner and turning up the sides. IF the box is t

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Question 722033: A rectangular piece of cardboard, whose area is 864 cm squared, is made into an open box by cutting a 3-centimeter square from each corner and turning up the sides. IF the box is to have a volume of 1620 cubic centimeters, what are the dimensions of the cardboard should you start with?
Answer by josgarithmetic(39617) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
The original cardboard is x by y cm^2. Given is that area xy=864 cm^2.

Folding up the flaps after removing each of the four 3 by 3 corners makes the base area %28x-3%29%28y-3%29 cm^2. The height, being 3 cm, means that the volume this box holds will be 3%28x-3%29%28y-3%29=1620 cm^3.

The system to use for solving the problem is
xy=864
AND
3%28x-3%29%28y-3%29=1620
A substitution will be necessary and you will have actually a quadratic equation to solve. Maybe this is enough for you to understand and to continue.