This is an example of a percent question where it makes sense to plug in numbers. Since the dimensions of the rectangular patch of land are not given, we can choose numbers that will simplify our calculations. Since we want, in the end, to calculate the percent increase in the area, let's set the original area equal to 100. Furthermore, we'll set the original length to 20, and the original width to 5.
The length increases by 30 percent: 30% of 20 is 6, so the new length is 26. The width decreases by 20 percent: 20% of 5 is 1, so the new width is 4. The new area is 26 x 4 = 104, which is 4% higher than the original area, 100. The correct answer is choice (A).
