Perimeter

A cloud of worry hung heavy over Liam's backyard in Eureka Shores as the friends discovered that Sparky, their beloved dog, had managed to slip away. Panic gripped their hearts, and frantic calls of Sparky's name echoed through the neighborhood.

"Sparky! Where are you, buddy?" Liam called out, his voice filled with desperation.

"Come here, Sparky! Treats are waiting for you!" Maya pleaded, shaking Sparky's favorite squeaky toy in the hope that it would attract him.

Zoey had a worried look on her face as she scanned the familiar spots where Sparky loved to play. "He couldn't have gone far, right?"

Liam asked neighbors and friends if they had seen the mischievous but lovable pup, their voices trembling with concern. To their dismay, nobody had seen the little ball of fluff.

Just when hope was starting to fade, a distant rustling caught their attention. Following the sound, they discovered Sparky, happily wagging his tail among the trees not far from Liam's house. Relief flooded their faces.

"There you are, Sparky! We were so worried!" Maya exclaimed, tears of joy streaming down her face.

Liam knelt down, petting Sparky, and said, "You had us scared, buddy. Don't ever do that again!"

With Sparky safely in their arms, they walked back home, their voices now filled with laughter and gratitude. However, even though Sparky was safe, the group knew they had to do something to prevent Sparky from escaping again.

Maya took the lead. "I think we need a fence to contain Sparky. To create a boundary and keep him safely within the kingdom, we need to find the perimeter of Liam's yard."

Liam nodded in agreement, "I think that makes sense, Maya. Perimeter is the total length of the boundary around a shape. In our case, it's like measuring the total distance around my backyard to fit the fence in to make sure that Sparky doesn’t run away again."

With measuring tape in hand, they set out to discover the dimensions of the backyard. "The first way to do this is just to measure the whole distance around with a tape measure, but that won’t be very accurate. The best way to do this is to measure the length and width first.”

Zoey took the tape measure, and measured the the length and width of Liam’s backyard. “The length is 20 feet, and the width is 15 feet," Zoey explained. "Now, to find the perimeter, we have to add up all the sides."

As they calculated, Maya inquired, "So, what's the magical length of our perimeter fence, Liam?"

Liam shared the result, "The perimeter is 70 feet!”

Maya grinned, “That’s what I got too. I didn’t just add 20+15+20+15 though. I used the other formula to solve. You just double the length and double the width, and add those values together! So in this case, I first did the length times two, which was 40 feet. Then, I did the width times two, which was 30 feet. Then, I added these two values and got 70 feet.”

Zoey, with a smile, added, "I guess you can find a perimeter in multiple ways. I’m just glad we know how much fencing to buy so that Sparky never escapes again.”

Thanks to their calculations, they were able to buy the perfect amount of fencing to outline Liam’s backyard. And even better, Sparky never escaped from the backyard again!