Cut a 20 cm long iron wire into two sections, and make a square with the length of each section as the perimeter. To make the sum of the two squares equal to 17 square centimeters, what are the lengths of the two sections?

Cut a 20 cm long iron wire into two sections, and make a square with the length of each section as the perimeter. To make the sum of the two squares equal to 17 square centimeters, what are the lengths of the two sections?

Let the side length of one square be xcm, then the side length of the other square be (5-x) cm. According to the equation, we can get x2 + (5-x) 2 = 17, and we can get x2-5x + 4 = 0, (x-4) (x-1) = 0. Solving the equation, we can get X1 = 1, X2 = 4, 1 × 4 = 4cm, 20-4 = 16cm; or 4 × 4 = 16cm, 20-16 = 4cm