If the sides of a square are lengthened by 8 cm, the area becomes 256cm^2. Find the length of a side of the original square.

Answer 1

original square : x by x
new square : (x+8) by (x+8)

so (x+8)^2 = 256
x+8 = √256 = 16
x= 8

original square was 8 by 8

check: new square is 16 by 16 or 256

Answer 2

The square root of 256 is 16. Therefore the original square has side lengths of 8.