How many linear feet to surround 1500 square feet of lawn?

Answer 1

Unfortunately, "It Depends" - - To determine square footage, you have to know whether the lawn is square, rectangular, circular, or some other shape. Assuming a rectangle (or square), the square footage is determined by multiplying the length by the width. Linear footage is determined by adding 2 times the length plus 2 times the width. If the lawn is a square, there is only one answer (as there is only one solution which will give 1500 square feet: length and width of 38.73-some odd decimal, meaning 2 times length and 2 times width gives a linear footage of some 154.92 feet). However, if the lawn is rectangular, there are an infinite number of answers. Giving three examples to show the range: 1) If the lawn is 50 feet long by 30 feet wide, that will give (50x30), or 1500 square feet of area and ([50x2]+[30x2]), or 160 linear feet. 2) If the lawn is 100 feet long by 15 feet wide, that will give (100x15), or 1500 square feet of area and ([100x2]+[15x2]), or 230 linear feet. 3) If the lawn is an alleyway in the middle of a big city and 1500 feet long by 1 foot wide, that will still give the required (1500x1), or 1500 square feet of area...but a whopping ([1500x2]+[1x2]), or 3002 linear feet around! (Note that the square gives the least linear footage possible for a rectangular-shaped lawn) Have fun figuring out circular, elliptoid, and other funny shaped lawns...