Problem

Source: Cono Sur 1996 P1

Tags: geometry, areas, rectangle, square



In the following figure, the largest square is divided into two squares and three rectangles, as shown: The area of each smaller square is equal to $a$ and the area of each small rectangle is equal to $b$. If $a+b=24$ and the root square of $a$ is a natural number, find all possible values for the area of the largest square.