Hi Stephon,

Is this the way the problem is stated? It is somewhat ambiguous. Does the statement "this rectangle is reduced to 90% of its original size" mean the length and width are reduced to 90% of their original values or the area is reduced to 90% of its original value? I am going to assume it means the length and width are reduced to 90% of their original values.

90% is another way of writing $\frac{90}{100}$ so 90% of the length is

\[ \frac{90}{100} \times 4 \mbox{ cm }\]

I hope this helps,
Penny