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| Math Central | Quandaries & Queries |
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Question from Brooke, a student: What is the perimeter if the area is 20 ft? |
Hi Brooke,
You can't tell the perimeter from the area. Many different shapes have an area of 20 square feet but different perimeters. For example a rectangle with dimensions 10 feet and 2 feet has an area of $10 \times 2 = 20$ square feet and its perimeter is $10 + 2 + 10 + 2 = 22$ feet. Likewise a rectangle with dimensions 5 feet and 4 feet has area 20 square feet and perimeter $5 + 4 + 5 + 4 = 18$ feet. What about a rectangle with dimensions 20 feet and 1 foot?
Penny
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