In a problem like this best thing you can do is draw a picture of a rectangle the width would be w because we don't know the width , the length would be 9 + w because it is 9 more than the width , on the inside of the rectangle you would write 220 since the area is 220 , area = lw right so plug in what you know , you know area , and length . Your equation is now 220=(9+w)(w) what I do is either guess and check or distribute out the w and from there you can guess and check or keep solving the equation