Question

A pasture is twice as big as it is wide. Its area is 115,200 ft^2. How wide is the pasture?

Answer 1

The pasture is 240 ft wide.

Explanation:

You can think of your pasture as being a rectangle that ahs a width of `w` feet and a length of `l` feet.

In order to determine the values of `l` and `w`, you need to use the information given to you to write two equations.

First, focus on the fact that the pasture's twice as big as it is wide. This tells you that the length of the pasture is actually two times bigger than its width.

`l = 2w`

You also know the pasture's area to be `"115,200 ft"""^2`. A rectangle's area can be calculated using the formula

`A = l * w`

This means that you have

`l * w = 115,200`

Replace `l` with the value you get from the first equation and solve for `w`

#(2 * w) * w = 115,200

`2w^2 = 115,200`

`w^2 = 57,600 implies w = sqrt(57,600) = color(green)(240)`

This means that the pasture's length is

`l = 2 * 240 = color(green)(480)`

So, to answer the question, the pasture is 240 ft wide.