A square garden has a walkway 3 ft wide around its outer edge.

Question

If the area of the entire garden, including the walkway, is 18,000 ft2, what are the dimensions of the planted area?

Answer 1

(x + 2*3)^2 = 18000
(x+6)^2 = 18000
x+6 = 60√5
x = 60√5 - 6 ≈ 128.16 ft on a side

Answer 2

why do you multiply 2*3?

Answer 3

really? draw the diagram
there is a walkway on both left and right sides, so the width is increased by 6, not 3

same for top and bottom