SOLUTION: A carpet of area 240msquared has its length doubled. The width is reduced by 5m. Calculate the original dimensions of the carpet. Assume the two areas are equal.

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Question 193199: A carpet of area 240msquared has its length doubled. The width is reduced by 5m. Calculate the original dimensions of the carpet. Assume the two areas are equal.
Answer by jonvaliente(64) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Let L=original length and W=original width of the carpet.
So:
L*W=240
If we express L in terms of W, we get:
L=240/W
.
If the dimensions were changed then:
2L*(W-5)=240
Substuting the alternate value of L:
2%2A%28240%2FW%29%2A%28W-5%29=240
%28480%2FW%29%2A%28W-5%29=240
480-%282400%2FW%29=240
240-%282400%2FW%29=0
Multiplying both sides by W:
240W-2400=0
240W=2400
W=10
L=240/W=240/10=24
So the original dimensions of the carpet are: 24 meters long and 10 meters wide