Question

The sides of a square are all increased by 2 in. The area of the new square is 49 in.^2 . What is the length of a side of the original square?

2 in.
4.5 in.
5 in.
9 in.

Answer 1

5

Explanation:

square root is 49 is 7

so

1 side is 7

so

original side is 7 - 2

which is

5

Answer 2

The original side length was 5 in.

Explanation:

Area of new square is (side length)^2. Here,

that area is (x + 2)^2 = 49 in^2, and we must find x.

Taking the square root of both sides, we get:

x + 2 = +√49 = +7

Subtracting 2 from both sides yields x = -2 + 7 or x = 5

Check: does (5 + 2)^2 = 49? YES