Your dad is designing a new rectangular garden for your backyard. He has 20 feet of fencing to go around the garden. He wants the length of the garden to be 2
2 1/2 feet longer than the width. How wide should he make the garden?
Let's assume the width of the garden is x feet.
According to the given information, the length of the garden would be x + 2 1/2 feet.
The given fencing can be used to form the perimeter of the garden, which is equal to the sum of all four sides.
Therefore, 2(x + 2 1/2) + 2x = 20.
Simplifying the equation, we get 2x + 5 + 2x = 20.
Combining like terms, we have 4x + 5 = 20.
Subtracting 5 from both sides, we get 4x = 15.
Then dividing both sides by 4, we have x = 15/4.
Thus, the width x should be 3 3/4 feet.