GCSE Maths Foundation Level

Area Of A Square

Area = Side × Side

What do we mean by the area of a square?
By the area of a square we mean the amount of surface that the square covers.

If a question asks me to calculate the area of a square, how do I do that?
You are required to show a method with a calculation.

What is the method?
The method is to multiply the length of a side by the length of a side.
Area of square = length of side × length of side.

Can we write that in a shorter way?
Yes, we can just write the formula as:
Area = side × side.

Can we do an example of the calculation of the area of a square?
Certainly, let us calculate the area of the square in the following diagram.

Area = side × side
Area = 2 × 2 = 4

The units are cm × cm = cm²
we say this as centimetre times centimetre equals centimetre squared
but sometimes instead of centimetre squared we say square centimetres.

So, the actual answer is:
Area of square = 4 cm²

Can we do another example but only show the necessary working?
Yes, here we go.

Area = side × side
Area = 3 × 3 = 9
cm × cm = cm²
Area = 9 cm²

Why does the formula, area = side × side, give us the area of a square?
Excellent question and we can see why in the following diagrams.

SAMPLE QUESTION