Math Problem Statement

When Isabel began her book-selling business, she stored her inventory in her garage. Now that her business has grown, she wants to rent warehouse space. Lisa owns a large warehouse nearby and can rent space to Isabel. The area of the warehouse is 8,100 square feet. Lisa is willing to rent Isabel as little as 100 square feet of the space or up to as much as the entire warehouse. Her only requirement is that all spaces must be square. The total length of each row of bookshelves will be of the length of the storage space. a) Let x be the area of the space that Isabel rents and f(x) represent the total length of a row of bookshelves. How would you find the length of a row of bookshelves?

Solution

To find the length of a row of bookshelves that Isabel will need, we are dealing with the area of the space she rents, which is given as xx. Since the storage space must be square, we can interpret the area xx as the area of a square.

Step-by-Step Process:

  1. Area of a Square: The area of a square is related to its side length by the formula: Area=side length2\text{Area} = \text{side length}^2 Since xx is the area of the square, we can write: x=(side length)2x = (\text{side length})^2

  2. Solving for Side Length: To find the side length of the square, we take the square root of both sides of the equation: side length=x\text{side length} = \sqrt{x}

    The side length represents the total length of a row of bookshelves because the length of each row will match the length of the side of the square storage space.

  3. Function Representation: The total length of a row of bookshelves, which we’ll denote by f(x)f(x), is equal to the side length of the square. Therefore, the function f(x)f(x) that represents the length of a row of bookshelves is: f(x)=xf(x) = \sqrt{x}

    Here, xx represents the area of the rented space.

Summary:

  • The length of a row of bookshelves is given by f(x)=xf(x) = \sqrt{x}, where xx is the area of the square space that Isabel rents.

Would you like to see how this function works with specific examples, or do you have any questions on this?

Related Questions:

  1. What would be the length of a row of bookshelves if Isabel rents 400 square feet?
  2. How do you calculate the total area of warehouse space in square feet if the side length is known?
  3. What is the relationship between the area of a square and the side length in general?
  4. How would the length of the row of bookshelves change if Isabel decided to rent half the space?
  5. What is the maximum area Isabel can rent based on the warehouse size?

Tip:

When dealing with areas of squares or rectangles, always remember that the area is the square of the side length, so the square root will give you the length when the area is known.

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Math Problem Analysis

Mathematical Concepts

Geometry
Functions
Square Roots

Formulas

Area of a square = side^2
Side length = √x

Theorems

Properties of square areas

Suitable Grade Level

Grades 6-8