For a remodeling job, an architect suggested increasing the sides of a square patio by 5 feet per side. This made the new area of the patio 144 square feet. What was the area of the original patio?

49 sq ft.

Step-by-step explanation:

The area of a square is calculated by multiplying the length by the width which, since it is a square, are both the same value. Therefore, since we are given the area of the new patio we can simply square root that area to find the value of the length/width

= 12 feet

Since the new sides of the patio are 5ft more than the original we need to subtract 5 feet.

12 - 5 = 7 feet

Now we can multiply the original width/length together to calculate the original area of the patio.

7 * 7 = 49 sq ft.