Question

Franklin used the polynomial expression
x
(
x
−
3
)
(
x
+
4
)
to model the volume of a rectangular prism.



What is the length of the shortest side of this prism?

Answer 1

The prism's side lengths are x, x−3, and x+4. For a physical prism all lengths must be positive, so x>3. For x>3, x−3 < x and x−3 < x+4, so the shortest side is x−3.