A square parcel with side length 5 miles has an area of

A square parcel with side length 5 miles has an area of

• A. 25 square miles
• B. 5 square miles
• C. 10 square miles
• D. 20 square miles

Answer: (A)

Area of a square is found by squaring its side length. With a side length of 5 miles, the area is 5 miles × 5 miles = 25 square miles. The square miles unit comes from multiplying two lengths. The other numbers would result from not squaring the side (5 would be the length, not the area; 10 or 20 come from multiplying by a factor other than the side itself), so they don’t represent the area of this square.

Area of a square is found by squaring its side length. With a side length of 5 miles, the area is 5 miles × 5 miles = 25 square miles. The square miles unit comes from multiplying two lengths. The other numbers would result from not squaring the side (5 would be the length, not the area; 10 or 20 come from multiplying by a factor other than the side itself), so they don’t represent the area of this square.