Fifth Grade Word Problem

by Sara

Sara went to the park last Saturday. If the area of the park is thirty-six square kilometers and the park is in the shape of a square, what is the length and width of the park?

Solution

The area of a square is A = L^2 (where A represents the area and L stands for the length of the square).

A = L^2
36 = L^2 (because we know that the area of the park is 36 sq km)

36 has two square roots: 6 and -6. Since the length of the park cannot be a negative number, L equals to the positive square root of 36. Therefore L = 6 km. Since the park is shaped as a square, the width of the park = its length = 6 km.