Calculating the area of a square is a very simple operation, as long as you know some basic information, such as the length of one side, the perimeter or the length of the diagonal. Read on to find out how.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Using the Length of a Side
Step 1. Make a note of the side measurement
Suppose you need to work on a square that has a side measuring 3 cm.
Step 2. Understand the principle behind the mathematical formula for calculating the area of a square (Area = Side ^ 2)
Since all sides of a square are equal, to calculate its area, simply multiply its length by itself. In the example the side of the square measures 3 cm, so you will have to square this value to get the area of the figure: 3 x 3 = 9 cm2.
Step 3. Don't forget to use square units which in this case are square centimeters
Squaring the length of one side of the square is exactly the same as multiplying the length of the figure's base by the height, the equivalent of the formula for calculating the area of any rectangle parallelogram
Method 2 of 3: Use the Diagonal
Step 1. Measure the diagonal length of the square you are working on
Step 2. Understand the formula for calculating the area of a square from the diagonal
Area = (Diagonal ^ 2) / 2.
Step 3. Square the diagonal measurement
Multiply your value by itself. Let's assume that the diagonal of the square in question measures 5 cm. At this point raise it to the square obtaining: 5 x 5 = 25 cm2.
Step 4. Divide the value obtained in the previous step by 2
Carrying out the calculations you will get: 25 cm2 / 2 = 12, 5 cm2. Congratulations, your work is complete.
Method 3 of 3: Use the Perimeter
Step 1. Multiply the perimeter measurement by 1/4 to find the length of a single side
This operation corresponds to dividing the perimeter by the number 4. Since the square is a special parallelogram, in which all sides are equal, starting from the perimeter you can easily trace the length of the sides by dividing it by 4. Assume you are working on a square that has a perimeter of 20 cm. To calculate the side just do this: 20 x 1/4 = 5 cm. At this point you know that the length of the side of the square in question is 5 cm.
Step 2. Multiply the value obtained in the previous step by itself by squaring it
Now that you know that the side of the figure in question is equal to 5 cm you are able to calculate the area using the standard formula: Area = (5 cm)2 = 25 cm2