To solve the problem, we'll start by establishing the relationships between the length and the width of the rectangle based on the given information.
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Expression for the length in terms of the width: Let \( w \) be the width. According to the problem, the length \( l \) is four meters less than twice its width. So, we can express this as: \[ l = 2w - 4 \]
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Formula for the area of a rectangle: The area \( A \) of a rectangle is given by: \[ A = l \times w \] Since we know the area is \( 96 , m^2 \), we write: \[ 96 = l \times w \]
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Substituting the expression for length into the area formula: We substitute the expression for \( l \) from step 1 into the area formula: \[ 96 = (2w - 4) \times w \] This simplifies to: \[ 96 = 2w^2 - 4w \] Rearranging gives us a standard quadratic equation: \[ 2w^2 - 4w - 96 = 0 \] Dividing the entire equation by 2 to simplify: \[ w^2 - 2w - 48 = 0 \]
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Solving the quadratic equation: We can factor this equation: \[ (w - 8)(w + 6) = 0 \] Therefore, the solutions for \( w \) are: \[ w = 8 \quad \text{or} \quad w = -6 \] Since width cannot be negative, we have: \[ w = 8 , m \]
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Finding the length: Now we can find the length using the expression for \( l \): \[ l = 2w - 4 = 2(8) - 4 = 16 - 4 = 12 , m \]
So the final answers are:
- Width: \( 8 , m \)
- Length: \( 12 , m \)
Final Responses:
- An expression for the length in terms of the width: \( l = 2w - 4 \)
- The formula for the area of a rectangle: \( A = l \times w \)
- The length and width are: Length = \( 12 , m \) and Width = \( 8 , m \)