Michael Gomski must build a rectangular storage shed. He wants the length to be 6ft greater than the width, and the perimeter will be 44ft. Find the length and the width of the shed.

Verified Answer :

First, let the variable L be equal to the length.
Second let the variable W be equal to the width.

The relationship between L and W is that L is 6 greater than W. If we write this mathematically we get:
L=W+6

Now the formula for perimeter is just to add the lengths of all four sides. Since this is a rectangle, and two sides are the same we can write this mathematically as:
2L+2W = Perimeter

Interestingly, we can use the equation we figured out at the start to find the relationship between length and width. By substituting W+6 for each L in the perimeter equation, we can easily solve for the width.

2W+2L=44
2W+2(W+6)=44
2W+2W+12=44
4W=44-12
4W=32
W=32/4
W=8

Now, put W back into the perimeter equation and solve for L.