16Hit1600
Advanced MathVery hardSide length from a quadratic relation

Advanced Math practice question

The area of a rectangle is 5 square units more than 4 times its width, and its length is equal to its width. What is the width, in units?

Answer: 5

With width w, w² = 4w + 5, so w² − 4w − 5 = (w − 5)(w + 1) = 0 and w = 5.

Common wrong answers

If you answered 4
4 copies the coefficient.
If you answered 25
25 is the area.
If you answered -1
−1 is the other root, not a length.

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