Question

Tasha is planning an expansion of a square flower garden in a city park. If each side of the original garden is increased by 5 m, the new total area of the garden will be 196 m2. Find the length of each side of the original garden.

19m
14m
9m
or
`\sqrt9m`

Answer 1

9 m

Explanation:

Let x be the original side of the square flower garden

We increase it by 5

The new side length is (x+5)

The area of a square is found by

A = s^2 where s is the side length

A = (x+5)^2

The area is 196

196 = (x+5)^2

Take the square root of each side

sqrt(196) = sqrt((x+5)^2)

14 = x+5

Subtract 5 from each side

14-5 = x+5-5

9 =x

The original side is 9 m