Find Rectangle's Side Length: Given Area 21 cm² and Side Sum 14 cm

Question

What is the length of the second side in a rectangle, given that the sum of the 2 opposite sides is 14 cm and the area of the rectangle is 21 cm²?

Video Solution

Solution Steps

00:00 Determine the length of the second side in the rectangle
00:03 Draw the rectangle
00:07 In a rectangle, opposite sides are equal
00:12 The sum of opposite sides according to the given data
00:17 Isolate X
00:21 This is the length of side X in the rectangle
00:28 In a rectangle opposite sides are equal, let's mark it as Y
00:32 The area of the rectangle according to the given data
00:35 Apply the formula for calculating the rectangle area (side x side)
00:38 Substitute in the relevant values according to the data and solve for Y
00:41 Isolate Y
00:46 This is the solution

Step-by-Step Solution

As we know that the two opposite sides of the rectangle add up to 14 and that, in a rectangle, each pair of opposite sides are equal, we can calculate the size of each one as follows:

14:2=7 14:2=7

We will call the other two opposite sides y y and calculate the unknown variable as follows:

7×y=21 7\times y=21

We will then divide both sides by 7 to get:

y=3 y=3

Answer

3