Area of square word problem

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pezgrl78

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Could anyone get me started on this?

If the sides of a square are decreased by 3cm, the area is decreased by 81cm^2. What were the dimensins of the original square?

I drew a square and the sides should be x-3, right? and the area part I think is x-81^2.

What's next?
 
Could anyone get me started on this?

If the sides of a square are decreased by 3cm, the area is decreased by 81cm^2. What were the dimensins of the original square?

I drew a square and the sides should be x-3, right? and the area part I think is x-81^2.

What's next?

The original area is x^2

The reduced area is (x - 3)(x - 3) = x^2 - 6x + 9

The difference is x^2 - x^2 + 6x - 9 = 6x - 9 = 81

Therefore, 6x = 90 making x = 15cm.
 
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