Janice is building a fence around a rectangular garden in her backyard. The area of the garden will be 240 square feet. The width of the garden is x feet shorter
than its length, which is 20 feet. How many feet of fencing does Janice need?
Draw a picture:
Write an equation:
A=
I
20-X
240 =
(20 – x)
20
The above equation models the
situation given in the word problem.