John wants to fence in a portion of his back yard. the dimensions of the area is 12 1/2 yards long and 5 1/2 yards wide. how many feet of fencing does john need to buy to enclose this area?

           
           |            5 1/2 yards         |
           |                                       |
           |                                       |
           |                                       |
           |                                       |    12 1/2 yards
           |                                       |
           |                                       |
           |                                       |
           
                       5 1/2 yards

The surface of this shape is called a rectangle.
Opposing sides of the rectangle are of equal length .
To fully fenced backyard you have to put a fence line the sides of the rectangle. The length of the fence will be equaled total sides of the rectangle.
the sum of the sides of the rectangle = perimeter of a rectangle
 2a   +   2b                                          = P

a = 12 1/2 yards
b =  5 1/2 yards

2* 12 1/2 yards + 2* 5 1/2 yards = 25yards + 11 yards = 36 yards

Answer : 36 uards

There is no