One side of a rectangle is five times as long as the other side. If the perimeter is 72 meters, what is the length of the shorter side?
___ meters
P = 2L + 2W
72 = 2(5W) + 2W
72 = 12W
? = W
Let's assume the length of the shorter side is x meters.
According to the problem, the length of one side is five times the length of the other side. Therefore, the length of the longer side is 5x meters.
The perimeter of a rectangle is calculated by adding up the lengths of all sides.
So, the perimeter of this rectangle is given as 2(x + 5x) = 72 meters.
Simplifying the equation, we have 2(6x) = 72.
Dividing both sides of the equation by 2, we find that 6x = 36.
Dividing both sides of the equation by 6, we get x = 6.
Therefore, the length of the shorter side of the rectangle is 6 meters.
To solve this problem, we can set up an equation using the information given.
Let's assume that the shorter side of the rectangle is x meters long. According to the problem, the longer side is five times as long, so the longer side would be 5x meters.
The perimeter of a rectangle is given by the formula: P = 2(l + w), where P represents the perimeter, l represents the length, and w represents the width.
Plugging in the values, we have: 72 = 2(x + 5x)
Simplifying the equation, we get: 72 = 2(6x)
Now, we can distribute the 2: 72 = 12x
To solve for x, we divide both sides of the equation by 12: x = 6
Therefore, the length of the shorter side is 6 meters.