A contractor is building a raised deck with the dimensions shown on the back of a house. The contractor is going to add a railing along the two shorter sides and one of the longer sides of the deck. What expression represents the length of railing needed to go around the three sides of the deck? Write the expression in simplest form.

To find the expression for the length of railing needed for the deck, we need to identify the dimensions of the deck and the sides where the railing will be installed. Let's denote: - \( l \) as the length of the longer side of the deck. - \( w \) as the length of the shorter side of the deck. According to the problem, the contractor will add railing along: - One of the longer sides (\( l \)) - Both of the shorter sides (\( 2w \)) Thus, the total length of the railing needed can be expressed as: \[ \text{Total Railing Length} = l + 2w \] This expression represents the total length of railing required to go around the three sides of the deck. If there are specific numerical values for \( l \) and \( w \), we can substitute those values into the expression to simplify it further. However, without specific values, the expression in its simplest form is: \[ l + 2w \]