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Rectangle Cutting
Age 14 to 16
ShortChallenge Level 
Tom and Jerry must each cut their piece of paper in half. Suppose the sides of the original piece of paper have length $2x$ and $2y$, with $x\geq y$.
Then $2x+4y=40$ and $4x+2y=50$ which implies that $6x+6y=90$, therefore the perimeter of the original piece, $4x+4y=60$.
This problem is taken from the UKMT Mathematical Challenges.
You can find more short problems, arranged by curriculum topic, in our short problems collection.
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