Can someone help me figure out what formula I am to use for this word problem? I am having a hard time.
If the sides of a square are lengthened by 7cm the area of the square becomes 121cm^2. What is the length of a side of the orgional square?
(x+7)^2 =121
x+7 = +/- 11
x = 3 or -18
-18 will not do so use 3
Thank you!
To find the length of a side of the original square, we can set up an equation using the given information.
Let's assume that the length of a side of the original square is represented by "x" cm. According to the problem, if the sides are lengthened by 7cm, then the new length becomes "x + 7" cm.
The formula for the area of a square is A = side^2. In this case, the original square has an area of x^2 cm^2, and when lengthened, it has an area of (x + 7)^2 cm^2.
We are given that the area of the lengthened square is 121 cm^2. Therefore, we can write the equation as:
(x + 7)^2 = 121
To solve for x, we need to square root both sides of the equation to isolate x:
√((x + 7)^2) = √121
x + 7 = 11
Now, let's solve for x:
x = 11 - 7
x = 4
Hence, the length of a side of the original square is 4 cm.