Each side of a square is lengthened by 3 inches . The area of this new, larger square is 25 square

Each side of a square is lengthened by 3 inches . The area of this new, larger square is 25 square inches. Find the length of a side of the original square.

area of a square is s^2

New square has sides s + 3, so the area of 25 is:
(s + 3)^2 = 25

Solving for s, we get:
s = 2