
Lam N. answered 04/29/20
Paraprofessional Tutor at Salt Lake City School District
Since the side lengths of a square are all the same, let's call the side length of one square 'x' and the other square 'y'.
Let's translate the first sentence into an equation. I'll write the sentence and then the symbols underneath.
side of one square is 4 inches longer than the side of another square
x = 4 + y
Making it neater, we get: x = 4 + y
Let's translate the second sentence.
areas of the squares differ by 64 inches
x2 - y2 = 64
Note that the area of a square is the side length times the side length, or the side length squared. I did x2 - y2 instead of y2 - x2 because from the first sentence, I know that the square with side length x is the larger square.
Now we have two equations in two unknowns.
x = 4 + y
x2 - y2 = 64
Try solving this yourself first. Reply if you get stuck.