Medium
When the length of each side of a square was reduced by 20%, its area became 16 square centimeters. What was the area of the original square?
Explanation
Explanation
If the side is reduced by 20%, the new side is 0.8 times the original. New area = (0.8s) squared = 0.64 s squared = 16, so the original area s squared = 16/0.64 = 25 square centimetres.
PRO TIP
Re-check your working by substituting the answer back into the original question.