The perimeter of a rectangle is 24 inches. What is the number of square inches in the maximum possible area for this rectangle?
I know that the perimeter of a rectangle is the sum of the lengths of all four sides, and that the area of a rectangle is the product of the length and the width. I also know that for a fixed perimeter, the rectangle with the maximum area is a square, since that maximizes the product of the side lengths. So I want to find the side length of a square with perimeter 24 inches, and then square it to get the area. If the side length of a square is x, then the perimeter is 4x, so I can set up an equation: 4x = 24. Dividing both sides by 4, I get x = 6, so the side length of the square is 6 inches. The area of the square is then x^2, which is 6^2, or 36 square inches. 