Question 427200
Hello, 
First draw a square to show the garden which is 8 ft by 8 ft. Now draw a path around it. Let's have 2x+8 represent each side of the square. We can set up an equation as:
(2x+8)(2x+8)=144 sq ft
Expand this out to:
4x^2+32x+64=144
Subtract 144 from both side to get:
4x^2+32x-80=0
Factor this to:
(2x-4)(2x+20)=0
Solve for x:
x=2
x=-10
The only reasonable answer is 2.
Now we know the path is 2 feet wide going around the garden. 
work it out to see if this is correct. 
Make sense?
RJ
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