Answer:
4 cm by 5 cm (4 x 5)
Step-by-step explanation:
The area of a rectangle with length [tex]l[/tex] and width [tex]w[/tex] is given by [tex]A=lw[/tex]. Since the length of the rectangle is 7 less than 3 times its width, we can write the length as [tex]3w-7[/tex]. Therefore, substitute [tex]l=3w-7[/tex] into [tex]A=lw[/tex]:
[tex]A=lw,\\20=(3w-7)w[/tex]
Distribute:
[tex]20=3w^2-7w[/tex]
Subtract 20 from both sides:
[tex]3w^2-7w-20=0[/tex]
Factor:
[tex](w-4)(3w+5)=0,\\\begin{cases}w-4=0, w=\boxed{4},\\3w+5=0, 3w=-5, w=\boxed{-\frac{5}{3}}\end{cases}[/tex]
Since [tex]w=-\frac{5}{3}[/tex] is extraneous (our dimensions cannot be negative), our answer is [tex]w=4[/tex]. Thus, the length must be [tex]20=4l, l=\frac{20}{4}=\boxed{5}[/tex] and the dimension of the rectangle are 4 cm by 5 cm (4 x 5).
