What is the formula for the perimeter of a rectangle?

The perimeter of a rectangle is calculated by adding together all the sides of the rectangle. A rectangle has two lengths and two widths. Thus, the correct formula captures this relationship by summing the lengths and widths and then multiplying the result by 2, resulting in the formula P = 2 * (length + width).

This formula reflects that you take the total length around the figure, which is necessary to find the perimeter. In contrast, other options do not accurately represent the way a perimeter is calculated: adding length and width alone would only give half the required distance, while subtracting width from length or multiplying length by width would yield irrelevant values for perimeter, as those do not account for the combined distance around the rectangle.