Answer:
Width of the rectangle = 2 inches
Explanation:
Given the equation of the area of the rectangle as;
[tex]A=2w^2+5w[/tex]Given A = 18 in^2, let's substitute the given value of A into the equation and solve for w;
[tex]\begin{gathered} 18=2w^2+5w \\ 2w^2+5w-18=0 \end{gathered}[/tex]Let's go ahead and solve the resulting quadratic equation following the below steps;
1. Look for two factors -36 (-18 x 2) whose sum will be 5.
The two factors are 9 and -4, let's go ahead and split the middle term as shown below;
[tex]\begin{gathered} 2w^2+9w-4w-18=0 \\ w(2w+9)-2(2w+9)=0 \\ (w-2)(2w+9)=0 \end{gathered}[/tex]2. Let's equate to zero and solve for w;
[tex]\begin{gathered} w-2=0 \\ w=2in \\ \text{Also, } \\ 2w+9=0 \\ w=-\frac{9}{2} \end{gathered}[/tex]We'll go with the positive value of w, so w = 2 inches