Area of a square with side length s is given by which formula?

• A. A=lw
• B. A=s^2
• C. A=s^3
• D. A=2s

Answer: (B)

Area is the amount of surface inside a shape. For a square, the width and height are the same length, s, so you multiply them: s × s = s^2. That’s why the area expressed in terms of the side length is s^2. The general rectangle area uses length times width, which would only equal s^2 if both dimensions happen to be s. The s^3 option would be volume for a cube, and 2s is just a linear measure, not an area.