The area of a rectangle is 12 square metres. The lengths of the sides, in metres, are whole numbers. The greatest possible perimeter (in metres) is
(A) 14
(B) 16
(C) 12
(D) 24
(E) 26
The area of a rectangle is 12 square metres. The lengths of the sides, in metres, are whole numbers. The greatest possible perimeter (in metres) is
(A) 14
(B) 16
(C) 12
(D) 24
(E) 26

## Solution

If the rectangle has an area of 12 square metres and its sides are whole numbers then we have only the following possibilities for the width (w), length (l) and corresponding perimeter:

| $\underline{\mathrm{w}}$ | $\underline{1}$ | perimeter |
| :---: | ---: | :---: |
| 1 | 12 | 26 |
| 2 | 6 | 16 |
| 3 | 4 | 14 |

The greatest possible perimeter is $26 \mathrm{~m}$.

ANSWER: (E)