Question

Alexei wants to hang a mirror in his boat but the mirror and frame must not have an area larger than 19.25 square feet. The mirror is 3 feet wide and 5 feet long. Which quadratic equation represents the area of the mirror and frame combined? (The border must have equal width on each side.)

Answer 1

4x^2+16x-4.25<0

Answer 2

To get the maximum (so it comes out as an equation, instead of an inequality), let w be the width of the frame. So\[(3+2w)(5+2w)=77/4\]