Question

The chicken coup at the petting farm is 10 by 14 feet. The farm would like to double the current area

Answer 1

Answer:

14.85 feet & 18.85 feet

Step-by-step explanation:

This is a rectangle with area 10 * 14 = 140 sq. ft.

We want new rectangle to be DOUBLE this area, so that area would be:

140 * 2 = 280 sq. ft.

We will add same amount, x, to both length and width, to get 280. Lets do this and find x. [note: length * width = area]

Area = length * width

280 = (10+x)*(14+x)

280 = 140 + 10x + 14x + x^2

0 = -140 + 24x + x^2

We can solve this by using middle term factorization:

$x^2+24x-140=0\\x=4.85$

So, we need to add around 4.85 feet to both length and width

New dimensions are 14.85 feet & 18.85 feet