Question

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Part 1
A farmer has 12 feet of fencing. He constructs a rectangular garden whose sides are whole numbers. He uses all the fence to enclose the garden.
​(a) How many possible shapes can the garden​ have?
​(b) What is the area of each possible​ garden?
​(c) Which shape has the largest​ area?
Question content area bottom
Part 1
​(a) How many possible shapes can the garden​ have?
A.1 times 5 comma 2 times 4 comma 3 times 3
1 times 5 comma 2 times 4 comma 3 times 3
B.2 times 10 comma 4 times 8 comma 6 times 6
2 times 10 comma 4 times 8 comma 6 times 6
C.1 times 12 comma 2 times 6 comma 3 times 4
1 times 12 comma 2 times 6 comma 3 times 4

Answers

GPT-4o mini
To solve the problem, we start by establishing that the perimeter of a rectangle is given by the formula:

\[
P = 2(l + w)
\]

where \(l\) is the length and \(w\) is the width of the rectangle. Given that the farmer has 12 feet of fencing, we set the perimeter to 12:

\[
2(l + w) = 12
\]

Dividing both sides by 2, we get:

\[
l + w = 6
\]

To find whole number pairs \((l, w)\), we can express \(w\) in terms of \(l\):

\[
w = 6 - l
\]

Now we need to find all combinations of \(l\) and \(w\) where both values are whole numbers and non-negative. The pairs \((l, w)\) where both are positive integers that sum to 6 are:

1. \(l = 1, w = 5\) → \((1, 5)\)
2. \(l = 2, w = 4\) → \((2, 4)\)
3. \(l = 3, w = 3\) → \((3, 3)\)
4. \(l = 4, w = 2\) → \((4, 2)\)
5. \(l = 5, w = 1\) → \((5, 1)\)

So the possible shapes (rectangles) are:

- \(1 \times 5\)
- \(2 \times 4\)
- \(3 \times 3\)
- \(4 \times 2\)
- \(5 \times 1\)

Now we can answer the parts of the question:

### Part (a): How many possible shapes can the garden have?
The possible shapes of the garden based on the pairs derived above are:
1. \(1 \times 5\)
2. \(2 \times 4\)
3. \(3 \times 3\)
4. \(4 \times 2\)
5. \(5 \times 1\)

So, there are **5 possible shapes**.

**Answer**: 1 times 5, 2 times 4, 3 times 3, and their reverses.

### Part (b): What is the area of each possible garden?
The area \(A\) of a rectangle can be calculated by:

\[
A = l \times w
\]

Calculating the area for each rectangle:

1. For \(1 \times 5\): \(A = 1 \times 5 = 5\)
2. For \(2 \times 4\): \(A = 2 \times 4 = 8\)
3. For \(3 \times 3\): \(A = 3 \times 3 = 9\)
4. For \(4 \times 2\): \(A = 4 \times 2 = 8\)
5. For \(5 \times 1\): \(A = 5 \times 1 = 5\)

So the areas of each possible garden shape are:
- \(1 \times 5\): Area = 5
- \(2 \times 4\): Area = 8
- \(3 \times 3\): Area = 9
- \(4 \times 2\): Area = 8
- \(5 \times 1\): Area = 5

### Part (c): Which shape has the largest area?
The largest area calculated is for the shape \(3 \times 3\), which has an area of 9.

**Answer**: The shape with the largest area is \(3 \times 3\) with an area of **9**.