Question

the perimeter of a rectangle is 18ft. The length is 1 ft longer that the width. Let x be the length and y be the width. Stuck?

Answer 1

length is 1 ft longer that the width
x is length y is width

replace "length" with x and "width" with y
x is 1 ft longer than y
is --> means =
x = 1 ft longer than y

1 longer than ---> means 1+

x = 1 + y

now the perimeter is the sum of the legs
P = x+x+y + y = 2x + 2y
x =(1+y) so we can replace x to get
P = 2(1+y)+2y
P is perimeter of a rectangle is 18ft. P = 18
so we now have

2(1+y)+2y=18

the next step is to solve for y (and then x using x= 1+y)
distribute the 2 on the left side.
can you do that ?

Answer 2

Yes! Thank you for breaking it down for me!