Question

If the sides of a square are lengthened by 5 cm, the area becomes 144c^2. Find the lengrh of a side of the original square.

Answer 1

the new side length "s" is the original unknown length "x" plus 5 cm

s=x+5

and the area of a square is s^2 so:
(x+5)^2=144
take the square root of both sides
x+5=12
x=7

so the original side length was 7cm

Answer 2

thank you for your help