Question

The length of each side of a square was decreased by 2 inches, so the perimeter is now 48 inches. What was the original length of each side of the square? (Let x)=( original length of one side )

Answer 1

The original length of each side of the square was 14 inches.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the original length of each side of the square, we can set up an equation using the given information. The problem states that the length of each side was decreased by 2 inches, so the new length of each side is x - 2. The perimeter of the new square is 48 inches, so we can write the equation:

4(x - 2) = 48

To solve for x, we need to distribute the 4 and then combine like terms:

4x - 8 = 48

Next, we can add 8 to both sides of the equation:

4x = 56

Finally, we divide both sides by 4 to solve for x:

x = 14

So, the original length of each side of the square was 14 inches.