SOLUTION: the old lion cage at the zoo was a square, with sides x meters long. For part of the zoo's 50th b-day celebration, the zoo expanded the length and width of the cage. The expression

Algebra ->  Algebra  -> Customizable Word Problem Solvers  -> Geometry -> SOLUTION: the old lion cage at the zoo was a square, with sides x meters long. For part of the zoo's 50th b-day celebration, the zoo expanded the length and width of the cage. The expression      Log On

Ad: Over 600 Algebra Word Problems at edhelper.com
Ad: Algebrator™ solves your algebra problems and provides step-by-step explanations!
Ad: Algebra Solved!™: algebra software solves algebra homework problems with step-by-step help!

   


Question 71906: the old lion cage at the zoo was a square, with sides x meters long. For part of the zoo's 50th b-day celebration, the zoo expanded the length and width of the cage. The expression for total area of the new cage is (x^2 + 18x + 81). square meters.
How much did the zoo expand the length and width of the cage?

Answer by josmiceli(6786) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
let's say the increase to each side is a meters
Then the expression for the area is
%28x%2Ba%29%28x%2Ba%29+=+x%5E2+%2B+2ax+%2B+a%5E2
x%5E2+%2B+2ax+%2B+a%5E2+=+x%5E2+%2B+18x+%2B+81
from this you can see that
2a+=+18 and
a%5E2+=+81
a+=+9 satisfies both of these, so
the length and width was increased by 9 meters