Math-Book-GMAT-Club

Note: Remember that the walkway completely surrounds the garden. Thus its width will have to be accounted for
twice in both the total length and total width.
Now let’s see what the question gives us.
‘Garden with width 6 meters’ translates to:
Width of garden = 6
W – 2x = 6
Thus, if we know W we can find x.
‘Length of a rectangular garden surrounded by walkway is twice its width’ translates to:
Length of garden + length of walkway = 2*(width of garden + width of walkway)
L = 2*W
‘Difference between the length and width of just the rectangular garden is 10 meters’ translates to:
Length of garden – width of garden = 10
(L – 2x) – (W – 2x) = 10
L – W = 10
Now, since we have two equations and two variables (L and W), we can find their values. Solving them we get: L =
20 and W = 10.
Thus, since we know the value of W, we can calculate ‘x’
10 – 2x = 6
2x = 4
x = 2
Thus, the width of the walkway is 2 meters.
Easy wasn't it?
With practice, writing out word problems in the form of equations will become second nature. How much you need
to practice depends on your own individual ability. It could be 10 questions or it could be 100. But once you’re
able to effortlessly translate word problems into equations, more than half your battle will already be won.
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GMAT Club Math Book
part of GMAT ToolKit iPhone App