A square is altered so that one dimension is increased by 4 inches, while the other dimension is decreased by 2. The area of the resulting rectangle is 55 square inches. Find the area of the orginial square

Answer 1

(s + 4) (s - 2) = 55 ... s^2 - 2s - 63 = 0

solve for s (factoring or quadratic formula)

s^2 is the area you seek