SOLUTION: Please help me with this problem, it would be so appreciated. This algebra is confusing me. PLEASE HELP ME!!! What is the area in square feet of a room that is (2x-1) feet wide

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Question 114261: Please help me with this problem, it would be so appreciated. This algebra is confusing me. PLEASE HELP ME!!!
What is the area in square feet of a room that is (2x-1) feet wide and (7x+3)feet long?
Found 2 solutions by stanbon, solver91311:
Answer by stanbon(75887) (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
What is the area in square feet of a room that is (2x-1) feet wide and (7x+3)feet long?
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Area = (length)*(width)
Area = (2x-1)(7x+3)
Area = 14x^2+6x-7x-3
Area = (14x^2-x-3) sq.ft.
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Cheers,
Stan H.

Answer by solver91311(24713) (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
The area of any rectangular surface (the floor in this rectangular room for example) is given by , where A is the area, l is the length, and w is the width.

The problem gives us the length and the width . All we have to do is multiply these two quantities together to develop an expression for the area.

Now use the FOIL method to multiply the two binomials:

And combine like terms:

, and since the length and width were expressed in terms of feet, the area must be in square feet.

And that is as far as you can go unless you are given some idea of what x might be. It may well be that the source of your confusion is the fact that you had some expectation that you should be able to come up with a specific number as an answer to the problem. That is not always the case, and certainly not the case here. IMHO, the problem would have been more correctly stated if it had been worded, "What is an expression for the area in square feet..." Discuss it with your instructor and see what s/he thinks.

Hope this helps,
John