Question 31868
<pre>you may need to draw a diagram for better understanding:
 __________________        
| 1______________1 |
|1|              |1|
| |             p| |
|1|______________|1|P+2
|_1______________1_|
<b>Total area = 400ft.
Total length for a side = p+2:
Area of a square is given by n^2:
{{{(p+2)^2=400}}}
{{{p^2+4+4p=400}}}
{{{p^2+4p-396=0}}}
Factor:
(p-18)(p+22)=0
p=18 or p=-22
Remove the negative, and hence, the length for the square is 18ft long, and the area of the pool is 324ft squared.
18^2=324ft
Paul.