A contractor needs 54 square bricks to construct the border of a rectangular garden. The length of the walkway is 15 feet more than the width. Write an equation that could be used to determine the dimensions of the walkway Solve this equation to find the length and width, in feet, of the walkway.
Note that if the dimensions are x and y, then he will need 2(x+1 + y+1) bricks. (assuming each brick is 1 ft^2)
Draw a 2x3 diagram to see why the extra brick is needed along each side.
So, if the garden's width is x, we have
2(x+1 + x+15+1) = 54
x = 5
The garden is 5 by 20