Mari has 39 square feet of patio bricks to put around the edge of a rectangular garden. Each square brick has sides that are 1 foot long. What is the greatest perimeter that she can make with the bricks?
Q. Mari has 39 square feet of patio bricks to put around the edge of a rectangular garden. Each square brick has sides that are 1 foot long. What is the greatest perimeter that she can make with the bricks?
Perimeter Formula: First, we need to figure out the perimeter formula for a rectangle, which is P=2(l+w), where l is length and w is width.
Brick Size: Since the bricks are squares with 1-foot sides, each brick adds 1 foot to the perimeter when placed end to end.
Optimizing Perimeter: To get the largest perimeter, we should make the length and width as close as possible, because a square has the largest perimeter for a given area.
Calculating Perimeter: But we can't make a square because 39 isn't a perfect square. So, let's try a rectangle with one side longer than the other by 1 brick.
Calculating Perimeter: But we can't make a square because 39 isn't a perfect square. So, let's try a rectangle with one side longer than the other by 1 brick.If we try 19 bricks for the length and 20 for the width, we get a perimeter of 2(19+20)=2(39)=78 feet.