1. A basketball court has the dimensions shown. A border with a width of \( x \) feet is built surrounding the basketball court. What the perimeter of the basketball court and border? Write the expression in simplest form.

The perimeter of the basketball court can be calculated using the formula for the perimeter of a rectangle: \( P = 2 \times (\text{length} + \text{width}) \). If we assume the dimensions of the basketball court are \( l \) and \( w \), the perimeter would be \( 2(l + w) \). However, with a border of width \( x \), the overall dimensions become \( (l + 2x) \) and \( (w + 2x) \). Therefore, the perimeter of the court plus the border is \( 2((l + 2x) + (w + 2x)) = 2(l + w + 4x) \). Now you have a dynamic expression that changes with the border width, making it quite the mathematical adventure! To avoid common mistakes, make sure to account for the border width correctly. Often, it's easy to forget to add \( 2x \) to both the length and width, which would lead to an incorrect perimeter calculation. Always double-check your dimensions!