Question

The volume of a rectangular solid is given by the formula V = lwh, where l is the length, w is the width, and h is the height. The volume of the rectangular solid in the illustration is 550 cubic centimeters. Find the width of the rectangular solid if its length is 10 centimeters and its height is 1 centimeter longer than twice its wid

Answer 1

this is a case of plugging the given values into the given equation.

The equation we are given is V=lwh where 
V = 550
l = 10
w = ?
h = w  + 1
When plugged in this looks like
$550 = (10)(w)(w+1)$
Divide both sides by 10
$\frac{550}{10} = \frac{(10)(w)(w+1)}{10}$
Leaving us with $55 = w(w+1)$

at this point i would just check and test number that when multiplied by 1 unit more, it equals 55, I got somewhere between6.9 and 7.9 to 7 and 8 depending on how you are allowed to round.