the printed matter on a 18 by 22 centimeter page of a book must cover 96 square centimeters.If all margins are to be the same width, how wide should they be?

1 answer

Let x = margin width.

(18 - 2x)(22 - 2x) = 96
396 - 80x +4x^2 = 96
300 -80x +4x^2 = 0
x^2 -20x + 75 = 0
(x-15)(x-5) = 0

x = 5 cm is the only margin width that results in positive length and width of the printed area.