Question

The length of a rectangle is eight feet more than the width. The perimeter is 60 feet. Find the length and width.

Short answer

The width of the rectangle is 11 feet and its length is 19 feet.

Step-by-step solution

Step 1. Given Information 

• The length of the rectangle is 8 feet more than the width.
• The perimeter of the rectangle is 60 feet.

Step 2. Define the variables

• Let the width of the rectangle is wfeet.
• So, the length of the rectangle is$w+8$feet.

Step 3. Use the formula of Perimeter

• Use the formula of perimeter $P=2w+2l$and substitute $P=60,l\mathit{=}w\mathit{+}\mathit{8}$into the formula and solve for the unknown variable.

$$\begin{gathered} 60=2\left(w\right)+2\left(w+8\right) \\ 60=4w+16 \\ 4w=44 \\ w=11 \end{gathered}$$

• So, the width of the rectangle is 11 feet.

Step 4. Calculate the Length

• Substitute 11 for w into $l=w+8$ and solve for l.

$$\begin{gathered} l=w+8 \\ =11+8 \\ =19 \end{gathered}$$

• So, the length is 19 feet.

Step 5. Conclusion

The width of the rectangle is 11 feet and its length is 19 feet.