The length of a rectangle is 3x+2 . Its area is 21x2−x−10 . To find an expression that represents the width of the rectangle, perform the following operation(s) and simplify completely. 21x2−x−103x+2 (1 point)

1 answer

To find the width of the rectangle, we need to divide the area \(21x^2 - x - 10\) by the length \(3x + 2\).

Let's perform the polynomial long division:

  1. Divide the leading term of the numerator by the leading term of the denominator: \[ \frac{21x^2}{3x} = 7x \] So, we will multiply the entire length \(3x + 2\) by \(7x\): \[ 7x(3x + 2) = 21x^2 + 14x \]

  2. Subtract this result from the area: \[ (21x^2 - x - 10) - (21x^2 + 14x) = -x - 10 - 14x = -15x - 10 \]

  3. Now, divide the leading term of the new expression by the leading term of the denominator: \[ \frac{-15x}{3x} = -5 \] Now multiply the entire length \(3x + 2\) by \(-5\): \[ -5(3x + 2) = -15x - 10 \]

  4. Subtract this result from the previous remainder: \[ (-15x - 10) - (-15x - 10) = 0 \]

Since the remainder is 0, the division is exact.

Therefore, the width of the rectangle is: \[ \text{Width} = 7x - 5 \]

Thus, the expression representing the width of the rectangle is: \[ \boxed{7x - 5} \]