Defi ne the other unknown in terms of w. w 2 the length of the stall Label the picture with the expressions for the width and length. Step 3: Translate the information that appears in English into an algebraic equation. Use a known geometry formula. What does the 52 ft of fencing represent? Because the fencing goes around the horse stall, the 52 ft represents the perimeter of the stall. We need to use a formula that involves the length, width, and perimeter of a rectangle. The formula we will use is P 2l 2w Substitute the known values and expressions into the formula. P 2l 2w 52 2(w 2) 2w Substitute. Step 4: Solve the equation. 52 2(w 2) 2w 52 2w 4 2w Distribute. 52 4w 4 Combine like terms. 52 4 4w 4 4 Subtract 4 from each side. 48 4w Combine like terms. 48 4 4w 4 Divide each side by 4. 12 w Simplify. Step 5: Check the answer and interpret the meaning of the solution as it relates to the problem. The width of the horse stall is 12 ft. The length is w 2 12 2 14 ft. The answer makes sense because the perimeter of the stall is 2(14 ft) 2(12 ft) 28 ft 24 ft 52 ft. ✓ w 2 w Write out the steps as you are reading the example! YOU TRY 4 Write an equation and solve. Agnieszka wants to put Christmas lights around her rectangular picture window. The length is 1 ft more than the width, and it would take 18 ft of lights to go around the window. Find the dimensions of the window. Recall from Section 4.3 that the sum of the angle measures in a triangle is 180. We will use this fact in our next example. 336 CHAPTER 4 Basic Geometry Concepts and Algebra www.mhhe.com/messersmith
messersmith_power_prealgebra_1e_ch4_7_10
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