Brooke wants to have equal amounts of room on all four sides of her pool table. A 4ft by 7ft table is placed in the center of a rectangular room that has an area of 238 square feet. What is the width of the clear space Brooke will have on all sides of her table? Show your work.

Question

anonymous · Answer

5 feet
x=clear space
solve the following for x
(2 x + 7) (2 x + 4) = 238

hero · Answer

Area of clear space = 238 - 4*7 = 238 - 28 = 210

across · Answer

The room is rectangular.

hero · Answer

across, area = xy

across · Answer

robtobey is using the same variable for both the length and the height.

hero · Answer

Yeah, that can be a problem:

(2x+4)(2y+7) = 238

hero · Answer

Oh...because x and y are apparently the same on all four sides

hero · Answer

so x = y

hero · Answer

Maybe robtobey was on the right track after all

anonymous · Answer

I hope.  Recheck the first problem sentence.

hero · Answer

Yeah, good job rob

anonymous · Answer

Thank you.