I was going to ask about this question. But realized it needed the multiple choice to choose.
You do have to know the formulas.
Perimeter is the sum of the sides. For a square you can use p=4S
Area of a square is S^2
where S is a side.
I have a T-shirt that says “There are two kinds of people: those who can extrapolate from incomplete information.”
Unless I’m missing something, I don’t think you need multiple choice for this one.
s=side length
A=area
P=perimeter
A=s^2
P=4s
A=P
s^2=4s
s^2-4s=0
s*(s-4)=0
s=0, s=4
An interesting question because it’s equating units and square units. At least they had the courtesy / good sense to include the word “value” so we know they’re just talking about the numeric result, not the physical / mathematical reality of what the results mean.
See this thread for a mild religious war about math problems of this nature:
As to this problem specifically, as @slalexan says, it’s trivial and needs no multiple choice.
Mechanically converting the words of the problem into an equation yields:
4S = S^2. Solve for S.
By inspection S=4.
And of course zero is a degenerate answer as well. Also by inspection. Any equation involving just multiplication and exponentiation is trivially solved at zero.
I love it.
Thanks slalexan
I like your solution. I just brute forced it by trying values. It’s a lot better to setup a equation for the answer.
Right. So a 4ft x 4ft square would qualify, but a 48in x 48in square would not.
Exactly. Idjits. As was discussed in the other thread I linked. Wherein IIRC you got in a few good licks too.