Algebra word problem

Question

Karen wants to put a 2-foot border around the outside of the rose garden. What will the area of the border be? If the area of the square is 784.

Answer 1

Mike, draw a picture of your problem and see if you can figure it out.  Since we have a square, the l and w are both the square root of 784.  If we put a 2-foot border around the outside, we lose 4 feet to each.  Find the area of the inside and subtract.