Question 604292: A picture that measures 7 inches by 7 inches is being framed. The area of the frame is 32 square inches. What is the widt of the frame? Answer by alicealc(293) (Show Source):
(7 + 2x)*(7 + 2x) - 7*7 = 32
49 + 14x + 14x + 4x^2 - 49 = 32
(divide all by 4)
(x + 8)(x - 1) = 0
x + 8 = 0 or x - 1 = 0
x = -8 or x = 1
because the size can't be a negative number, so we take x = 1
so the frame width and length are the same, that is 7 + 2*1 = 7 + 2 = 9 inches
(