SOLUTION: If the sides of a square are increased by 2 ​inches, the area becomes 49 square inches. Find the length of the sides of the original square.
Question 1067041: If the sides of a square are increased by 2 inches, the area becomes 49 square inches. Find the length of the sides of the original square. Found 2 solutions by ikleyn, swincher4391:Answer by ikleyn(52776) (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! Let the dimensions of a square be x by x. So if we increase the sides by 2. Then we have an x+2 by x+2. So the area of the square is . Set that equal to 49.
Take the square root of both sides and get that the square root of 49 is 7 or -7. But remember we are talking about length, so -7 is not possible.