Question

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?

Answer 1

Call the long side x in length
then, x-3 is the shorter side. Now the perimeter is 2x + 2(x-3) and equals 54
2x + 2x - 6 = 54
4x = 60 inches
x = 15 inches
x-3 = 12 inches.
The rectangle is 12 by 15 inches.

Answer 2

Add up the four sides and the perimeter is 54 inches
one side is 3 inches shorter. That was the problem.