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40
w-8
The area of a rectangle is the product of its length and width. From the statement of the problem, this is w(w + 3) = 40, where w represents the width. Rearranging this equation gives w2 + 3w - 40 = 0. The left side can be factored into (w + 8)(w - 5), which will be zero when w = -8 or 5. A negative number is impossible for a real rug. Therefore the width is 5 feet and the length 5 + 3 = 8 feet.
if w - - 5 = 4, then w+4 = 4, subtract 4 from both sides = w = 4 - 4, so w = 0 and now the correct answer if w - - 5 = 4, then w+5 = 4, subtract 5 from both sides gives w = 4 - 5, so w = -1