Four squares Are cut from the corners from a 20 cm by 24 cm rectangular sheet of tin. The sides are then bent up to make a pan. What is the length of each side of the squares is the area of the bottom of the pan is said to be 192 cm squared

Squares are cut from the corner, so we are left with only one variable.

The area of a rectangle, the bottom of the pan, is base*height.

Let's call the sides of the removed squares "x"

so 192 = (20-x) (24-x) foil to expand the binomials

192 = 480 - 44x - x squared Take 192 away from both sides

0 = 288 - 44x - x squared

0 = (36 - x) (8-x)

x = 36 and x = 8

Because 36 > 24 and 36 > 20, in this case, the squares cannot be

36cm x 36cm and therefore must be 8cm x 8cm.

Check:

(20-8) (24-8) = 192