Collin is building a deck on the back of his house. He has enough lumber for the deck to be 144 square feet. The length should be 10 feet more than its width.What should the dimensions of the deck be?
Accepted Solution
A:
width = x length = x+10
Area of deck = 144 square feet
Area = length * width
144 = x(x+10)
Solving for x in a quadratic:
x²+10x = 144 x²+10x-144 = 0
Factor: (x+18)(x-8) = 0
Solving for x: x = 8, x = -18
Dimensions cannot be negative, therefore x = 8, only.