The area of a rectangle is 12. Each of its side lengths is a whole number. What is the smallest possible perimeter of this rectangle?
(A) 24
(B) 48
(C) 26
(D) 14
(E) 16
The area of the rectangle, 12 , is found by multiplying its length by its width.

Since the length and width must be whole numbers, the only possible dimensions are:

12 by 1,6 by 2 , and 4 by 3 .

(We recognize that 1 by 12, 2 by 6 , and 3 by 4 are also possibilities, but the perimeter of the rectangle is unchanged by reversing the dimensions.)

The perimeter of a rectangle is found by doubling the sum of the length and width.

The results are shown in the table below.

| Length | Width | Perimeter |
| :---: | :---: | :---: |
| 12 | 1 | 26 |
| 6 | 2 | 16 |
| 4 | 3 | 14 |

Therefore, the smallest possible perimeter of a rectangle with the given conditions is 14 .

ANSWER: (D)