16Hit1600
Geometry and TrigonometryMediumArea of a border around a rectangle

Geometry and Trigonometry practice question

A rectangular garden measures 10 metres by 6 metres. A path of uniform width 1 metre runs around the outside of the garden. What is the area, in square metres, of the path?

Answer: 36

The path adds 1 metre on every side, so the outer rectangle is 12 metres by 8 metres. Path area = outer area − garden area = 12 × 8 − 10 × 6 = 96 − 60 = 36.

Common wrong answers

If you answered 17
17 comes from an 11 × 7 outer rectangle — adding 1 metre to each dimension only once. The path is on BOTH sides, so each dimension grows by 2.
If you answered 60
60 is the garden itself, not the path.
If you answered 96
96 is the area of the outer rectangle, garden included. Subtract the garden's 60.

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