Julie has a square fence that enclosed her garden. She decided to expand her garden by making each side of the fence 1 percent longer. After this expansion, the area of Julie’s garden will have increased by what percent?

The correct answer is 2.01% because the area of a square depends on the square of its side length.

• Step 1: Original side length is x
• Step 2: New side length becomes 1.01 times x
• Step 3: New area becomes 1.01 times 1.01 times x squared = 1.0201 x squared
• Step 4: Increase in area = 0.0201 which equals 2.01 percent