SOLUTION: A tinsmith wants to make a small windowsill planter from a 28cm×21cm sheet of copper. She’ll form it by cutting equally sized squares from each of the four corners of the sheet,

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Question 1168045: A tinsmith wants to make a small windowsill planter from a 28cm×21cm sheet of copper. She’ll form it by cutting equally sized squares from each of the four corners of the sheet, folding up the resulting flaps to form the sides of the planter, and then soldering the four vertical edges. If she wants the ratio of the planter’s length to height to be 2, what will be the ratio of its length to width? Write the exact answer. Do not round.
Answer by greenestamps(13215) About Me  (Show Source):
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Let x be the length of the side of each square that is cut out of the corners of the sheet.

The length of the planter will then be 28-2x; the width will be 21-2x; the height will be x.

The length is to be twice the height:

28-2x+=+2%28x%29

Solve for x using basic algebra.

Then use that value to write the ratio of the length to the width of the planter: (28-2x):(21-2x).