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Hi Ericka, If she adds $x$ meters to each side the table will be $1.5 + x$ meters by $1 + x$ meters and hence its area will be $(1.5 + x)(1 + x)$ square meters. She wants an area of 3 square meters and thus \[(1.5 + x)(1 + x) = 3.\] Expanding the left side gives \[1.5 + 2.5 x + x^2 = 3.\] I would rather not work with decimals so I am going to write the decimals as improper fractions giving \[\frac32 + \frac52 x + x^2 = 3.\] Now multiply both sides by 2 to obtain \[3 + 5 x + 2 x^2 = 6.\] Can you solve this for $x?$ Write back if you need more assistance. Penny | ||||||||||||
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