Mathematics
From a high school textbook: A rectangle is 10 cm longer than it is wide. A line segment cuts the area enclosed into two pieces, one of which is a square. The area of the rectangle is 118 more than the area of the square. What is the width of the rectangle?
Leave answers in the comment section. And no, you don’t need to show all your work!
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9 Comments, Comment or Ping
Q.
ahh, this is too easy for me.. i’ll give y’all until midday.. although it should only take y’all about a minute to get..
i’m just sayin’..
[Reply]
Gii
Everybody just acted like they didn’t see this blog…
I know I did… Lemme keep acting like that!
[Reply]
Q.
let me put my teacher’s hat on.. excuse me for a sec..
draw a picture of a rectangle..
label the length “x + 10″
label the width “y”
you know that the area of a rectangle is length times width
now draw a line down to split the rectangle.. it doesn’t have to be exact, because it’s just your drawing..
now here’s the key, otherwise you’ll be going in circles..
now you have 2 shapes.. you have this square that you just created.. many people (and i would advise this) would then label the length “z”..
but if you stop with “z” that will confuse you.. the key from the word problem is that the shape left from the line segment is a square..
from that you know that “z” is actually “y”, because it is a square..
so now you have all “y’s” and “x’s”.. now you can solve the problem easily..
you know that the area of that rectangle is:
(x + 10) * y = length * width
you know the area of that square is:
y * y = length * width
from there you combine the equations and set them equal (kinda) to one another..
so you have
(x + 10) * y = (y * y) + 118
you get this equation from knowing that the area of the rectangle is 118 more than the area of the square.. now you can do the math.. solve for y.. last time i didn’t show the answer and someone else got credit.. as a math teacher, i believe the work done is worth more than just a simple answer.. at least, that’s how i graded my students.. but this is Troubl, and not my classroom, so i know i won’t get credit.. but if i were grading this on a 10 point scale, i’d give the student at least 9 points (maybe 8, cuz he was lazy)..
it’s all good.. i refuse to give ppl answers w/out showing the work.. i also refuse to give answers when i desire ppl to do it themselves (esp’ after i laid out the game plan).. i’m testing Troubl’s IQ.. yeah, i said it.. and i’d say it again.. i’m hatin’ on the last dude that stole my shine (see AW, i’m embracing it!!)..
i’m just sayin’..
[Reply]
Q.
man, in my haste, i made an error in writing out my complete work..
change “x” to “y”.. i’m used to saying “x” and “y”.. the “x + 10″ is really “y + 10″..
man forget it.. answer is 11.8..
[Reply]
Q. reply on August 8, 2008 4:26 pm:
x = y because they said that the length is 10 more than the width (which is y in my drawing)..
TM, i need something harder..
[Reply]
Johnny Haze
I too got 11.8, independent of Q’s work… I didn’t want to put up the answer and spoil it for everyone
[Reply]
Q. reply on August 8, 2008 5:48 pm:
nice to get verification..
[Reply]
TROUBLMan
Q,
I got you. I wanted to start off with the easy ones first. I got more where that come from.
[Reply]
Q. reply on August 11, 2008 7:28 am:
yea.. i’m just talking ish.. don’t go to heavy on them yet.. i’ll stay out of the next one (you too, Johnny), cuz i want to see if cats really start to pick this up..
[Reply]
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