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| Math Central | Quandaries & Queries |
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Question from junna, a student: a farmer would like to plant trees on one side of his lot which is 1/4 of a mile in a length His friend advised him that if he would plant the trees 5 feet farther apart,he would need 44 fewer trees.If the farmer would take the advice, how many trees would he plant? |
Hi Junna,
There are 5280 feet in a mile so these are $\frac{5280}{4} = 1320$ feet in a quarter mile.
Suppose the farmer's initial plan is to plant the first tree and then plant the second tree $x$ feet away, and the third tree $x$ feet further on so there are $x$ feet between the trees. Thus, after the first tree the farmer needs $\frac{1320}{x}$ trees.
Suppose he increases the distance between the trees to $x + 5$ feet. How many trees will he need after the first tree? This is 44 less than the number in his initial plan. Solve for x.
Make sure you check your answer,
Penny
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