One side of a rectangle is 3 inches shorter than the other side, and the perimeter is 54 inches. What are the dimensions of the rectangle?

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Answer 1 · 2016-03-03T23:59:30

#12 xx 15# inches

Suppose the shorter sides of the rectangle are #t# inches. Then the longer sides are #t+3# inches and the perimeter is:

#2t + 2(t+3) = 4t+6#

So:

#4t+6 = 54#

Subtract #6# from both sides to get:

#4t=48#

Divide both sides by #4# to get:

#t=12#

So the shorter sides of the rectangle are #12# inches and the longer sides #12 + 3 = 15# inches.