A rectangular swimming pool is 6 meters longer than the width of the pool. A pool deck (sidewalk) that surrounds the pool is 4 meters wide (all the way around the pool). The combined area of the pool deck and pool together (outer rectangle) has an area of 576 square meters more than the area of the pool (inner rectangle) alone. Find the dimensions of the pool.

Answer 1

c'mon, guy, just write the words as algebra. If the pool has width w, then its length is w+6. Now work with the total area:

(w+8)(w+6+8) = w(w+6) + 576
Now solve for w and then w+6.