Thread: Application problem using quadratic equations

Hey guys. Below is the shape in question.



The area of this entire figure is . The width of the rectangle is 1 cm. I need to figure out what the x-values are. The book says 48 centimeters, but I'm not sure how they got there. And according to Murphy's Law, this question will probably show up on the quiz on Thursday.

I apologize for the low quality of the figure, but drawing it up on Paint was the best I could do.

The area of the long, slender rectangle is just x, because x(1)=x.

The area of the triangle is



Solve for x. One answer will be negative and, therefore, extraneous.

Got the answer I was looking for after a little tinkering. Thanks!