Solve this problem plz...

A rectangle has an area of 288 cm square.if the width is decreased by 1cm and length is increased by 1 cm the area would decreasedby 3 cm square.fin the original dimension of the rectangle.

1 answer

just write what they give you:

xy = 288
(x-1)(y+1) = xy-3

Now just solve for x and y, and you have 16 by 18.

Or, just list the factors of 288 and 285:

9x32, 12x24, 16x18
3x95, 5x57, 15x19

and it's easy to see which pairs work.