How to Find the Area of a Square

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methods

1 Using the Length of a Side

2 Using a Known Diagonal

3 Using a Known Perimeter

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Last Updated: June 18, 2021

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Finding the area of a square is easy as long as you know the length of its side, perimeter, or diagonal. Here's how to do it.

Steps

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Using the Length of a Side

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   1
   Write it down. Let's say you're working with a square with a side length of 3 centimeter (1.2 in). Write it down.
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   2
   Understand the formula for the area of a square(Area=side^2). Since all squares have equal length sides, you can just multiply the distance by itself. If the length of a side of a square is 3 centimeter (1.2 in), then you just have to square 3 centimeter (1.2 in) to find the area of a square. 3 centimeter (1.2 in) x 3 centimeter (1.2 in) = 9 cm².
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   3
   Be sure to state your answer in square units. Then you're done.

   • Squaring the side of a square is the same thing as multiplying the square's height times its base.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Using a Known Diagonal

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   1
   Take the measurement of the length of the diagonal of the square.
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   2
   Understand the formula for the area using a known diagonal. Area = (diagonal^2)/2.
3. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/4\/4c\/Find-the-Area-of-a-Square-Step-6-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Find-the-Area-of-a-Square-Step-6-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/4\/4c\/Find-the-Area-of-a-Square-Step-6-Version-2.jpg\/aid680783-v4-728px-Find-the-Area-of-a-Square-Step-6-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a><br>\n<\/p><p><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div>"}
   3
   Multiply the length of this diagonal's measurement by itself. Square the length of the diagonal. Let's say you're working with a square with a diagonal that is 5 centimeter (2.0 in) long. Now, square this number. 5 centimeter (2.0 in) x 5 centimeter (2.0 in) = 25 cm².
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   4
   Divide the current number by 2. Continuing the calculation, 25 cm² is divided by 2. This gives 12.5 cm². You're done.
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Using a Known Perimeter

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   1
   Multiply the perimeter by 1/4 to find the length of a side. This is the same as dividing the perimeter by 4. Since there are four sides to a square and each side is of equal length, you can find the length of a square just by dividing the perimeter by 4. Let's say the perimeter of the square you're working with is 20 centimeter (7.9 in). Just multiply 20 centimeter (7.9 in) by 1/4: 20 centimeter (7.9 in) x 1/4 = 5 centimeter (2.0 in). You know that the length of a side of the square is 5 centimeter (2.0 in).
2. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/b\/bf\/Find-the-Area-of-a-Square-Step-9.jpg\/v4-460px-Find-the-Area-of-a-Square-Step-9.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/b\/bf\/Find-the-Area-of-a-Square-Step-9.jpg\/aid680783-v4-728px-Find-the-Area-of-a-Square-Step-9.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"<div class=\"mw-parser-output\"><p>License: <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external text\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons<\/a><br>\n<\/p><p><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div>"}
   2
   Multiply the length of the side by itself. Square the length of the side. Now that you know that the length of a side is 5 centimeter (2.0 in), you can square it to get the area of the square. Area = (5 cm)² = 25 centimeter (9.8 in).²
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• Question

  If the area of the square is 9 cm, what is the volume of the cube?

  

  Donagan

  Top Answerer

  Take the square root of 9 and cube it. The answer will be expressed in cm³.

  Thanks!

  Yes No

  Not Helpful 12 Helpful 36
• Question

  What is the formula to calculate the area of an isosceles triangle that has a base and equal sides?

  

  Community Answer

  Multiply the length of the base of the triangle by 0.5, and then multiply the length from the base to the highest point of the triangle. A = 0.5 x b x h.

  Thanks!

  Yes No

  Not Helpful 14 Helpful 28
• Question

  A square is 1 cm by 1 cm; what is the area?

  

  Donagan

  Top Answerer

  Multiply 1 cm by 1 cm: the area is 1 square cm.

  Thanks!

  Yes No

  Not Helpful 9 Helpful 26

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