Why do we call \(4^2\) “four squared”?
The area of a \(4\) by \(4\) square is equal to \(4^2\).
You can show this to be true for any number to the power of two.
A square has an area of \(25\) m\(^2\). What is the side length of the square?
Solution
\(\text{length } \times \text{ length}\class{timed in6}{= \text{length}^2 } \class{timed in7}{= 25}\)
We must find a positive number that squares to \(25\).
Mathematicians call this number the square root of \(25\) and write \(\sqrt{25}\).
Joe wants to build a fence around his backyard so that his dog can play outside. His backyard is a square and has an area of about \(52\) m\(^2\).
Try to approximate the length of the square backyard.