A homeowner wishes to fence in three adjoining garden plots, as shown in the figure. If each plot is to be 80 ft^2 in area, and she has 88 feet of fencing material at hand, what dimension should each plot have?

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5 answers

Looks like 3 plots, each of width x and height y. So,

4x+2y = 88
xy = 80

x(44-2x) = 80
2x^2-44x+80 = 0
x^2-22x+40 = 0
(x-20)(x-2) = 0
x = 20

So, each plot is 20 by 4
Or, 2 by 40
4 w + 6 L = 88

w L = 80
so
L = 80/w

4 w + 6 (80/w) = 88

w + 6 (20/w) = 22

w^2 - 22 w + 120 = 0

w = [ 22 +/- sqrt (484 - 480) ]/2

w = [ 22 +/- 2]/2

w = 12 or w = 10
if w = 12
L = 6 2/3
4 w + 6 L = 88 check
if w = 10
L = 8
4 w + 6 L = 88 check
Oops. My bad. Didn't set things up correctly.
a square has a area of 5.75cm squared
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