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joemama142000
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A square piece of sailcloth is trimmed by 4ft on one edge to 04 Nov 2005, 15:21
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A square piece of sailcloth is trimmed by 4ft on one edge to form a rectangular piece which is then cut in half to create 2 triangular sails. If the area of each of the sails is 240 sq. ft. , what was the perimeter of the original piece of sailcloth?



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A square piece of sailcloth is trimmed by 4ft on one edge to 04 Nov 2005, 15:33
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96 ft

area of full rectangle = 240 * 2 = 480

let the sides of original square is x:

x ^ 2 = 480 + (are that was cut)
x^2 = 480 + 4 * x

or x^2 - 4x - 480 = 0

x = 24

perimeter : 24 * 4 = 96 ft
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A square piece of sailcloth is trimmed by 4ft on one edge to 04 Nov 2005, 15:52
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how did u figure out that the area that was cut is equal to 4x??
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duttsit
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A square piece of sailcloth is trimmed by 4ft on one edge to 04 Nov 2005, 15:56
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bewakoof
how did u figure out that the area that was cut is equal to 4x??
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as original square side : x
if we cut 4 ft across at an edge, the width of the "cut part" will be 4 and length "x", so the area = 4 * x

am i missing something?
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A square piece of sailcloth is trimmed by 4ft on one edge to 04 Nov 2005, 16:13
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duttsit
bewakoof
how did u figure out that the area that was cut is equal to 4x??

as original square side : x
if we cut 4 ft across at an edge, the width of the "cut part" will be 4 and length "x", so the area = 4 * x

am i missing something?
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noo.. i was just curious.. thanks a bunch!
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vc019
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A square piece of sailcloth is trimmed by 4ft on one edge to 04 Nov 2005, 21:39
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Good Q. The answer is 96 ft.

x^2 = 240*2 + 4*x
gives 24.

Perimeter of a square = 24*4=96 feet.
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A square piece of sailcloth is trimmed by 4ft on one edge to 05 Nov 2005, 01:03
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that is correct. Is there any way to factor out x^2 -4x-480 faster? when i got to this part i just froze. (x+ )(x- )



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