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The area of the big rectangle is (6)(8) = 42. The area of the smaller rectangle is (6 - 2x)(8 - 2x) = 4x² - 28x + 42 where x is the width of the border. The area of the border is the area of the big rectangle minus the area of the small rectangle and is given as 33.
42 - 4x² + 28x - 42 = 33
4x² - 28x + 33 = (2x - 3)(2x - 11) = 0
x = 3/2 or 11/2. The border cannot be 11/2 = 5.5 ft wide since (5.5 + 5.5) = 11 > 6, so the border would have to "overlap" itself. Thus the border is 3/2 ft = 1.5 ft = 18 in wide.