A gardener increased the area of his rectangular garden by increasing its length by 40% and decreasing its width by 20%. The area of the new garden

To solve this intuitively, we need to bypass the formal algebra of 'L' and 'W'.\n\n**Approach 1: The Intuitive '10x10' Method**\nImagine the garden is a square (which is a type of rectangle). Let's pick the easiest numbers to work with.\nLet original Length = 10 and Width = 10.\nOriginal Area = 10 * 10 = 100.\n\nNow apply the changes:\n- Length increases by 40%: 10 becomes 14.\n- Width decreases by 20%: 10 becomes 8.\n\nNew Area = 14 * 8 = 112.\n\nComparing the areas:\nOld = 100\nNew = 112\nThe difference is 12. Since our base was 100, this is directly a **12% increase**.\n\n**Approach 2: The Logic of Multipliers (Abstract & Fast)**\nArea depends on Length and Width. \nNew Area = (1.4) * (0.8) * Old Area\n1.4 * 0.8 = 1.12\n1.12 represents a 12% increase over 1.00.\n\nThis confirms the answer without writing down equations.