vince uses 60 ft of fencing to build a fence around a rectangular area. He plans to build a square patio inside that area. The patio will extend t the fence on three sides, but will be 2ft short of the fence on the forth side to allow for a bed of flowers. What is the length of the square patio?

I suggest you start by drawing a picture of the square patio and the fence around it. Label the sides of the patio 'L', and note the extra 2 feet of fence along one side of the patio. Now add up the lengths of all 4 sides of the fence, which you know equals 60, and solve for L.