Arectangular yard has an area of 96 square feet. if the width of the yard is 4 feet less than the length, what is the perimeter, in feet, of the yard?

  40 ft

Step-by-step explanation:

Let x represent the average of the length and width. Then the length is (x+2) and the width is (x-2). The area is the product of these:

  96 = (x +2)(x -2) = x² -4

  100 = x² . . . . . . add 4

  10 = x . . . . . . . . square root

Since x is the average of two numbers, their sum is 2x. The perimeter of the yard is twice the sum of length and width, so is 4x = 4·10 = 40.

The perimeter of the yard is 40 feet.

In case you care, the size of the yard is 8 ft by 12 ft.