SOLUTION: AARGH!!! WORD PROBLEMS!!!!!!! PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!! The Taj Mahal was built by the Indian ruler Shah Jahan as a tomb for his wife who died in 1629. The building is constructed of

Algebra ->  Polynomials-and-rational-expressions -> SOLUTION: AARGH!!! WORD PROBLEMS!!!!!!! PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!! The Taj Mahal was built by the Indian ruler Shah Jahan as a tomb for his wife who died in 1629. The building is constructed of      Log On


   

Question 76768: AARGH!!! WORD PROBLEMS!!!!!!!
PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!!
The Taj Mahal was built by the Indian ruler Shah Jahan as a tomb for his wife who died in 1629. The building is constructed of white marble and sits on a platform of red sandstone. Each corner of the platform has a minaret (tower) that is 133 feet high. The plaatform is about 140 feet wider than the main building. The total area of the platform is about 102400 square feet. Find the dimensions of the platform and the base of the building. (Assume each is a square.)
I TOTALLY DON'T GET IT!! PLEASE ANSWER THIS WITH AN EXPLANATION...
Answer by Earlsdon(6294) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
It might help you if you were to sketch this situation.
Draw a small square centerd inside a larger square.
The inside square represents the main building and you can let its dimensions be x by x feet.
The outside square represents the platform and its dimensions would be (x+70) by (x+70) feet.
Since you know that the area of the platform (outside square) is 102400 sq. ft., you can write the equation for the area of the outside square:
%28x%2B70%29%2A%28x%2B70%29+=+102400 Rewrite this as:
%28x%2B70%29%5E2+=+102400 Now take the square root of both sides.
x%2B70+=+320 Subtract 70 from both sides of the equation.
x+=+250
So, the main building is 250 by 250 feet.
The platform is (250+70) by (250+70) feet or 320 by 320 feet.