How to find the area of a square - ISEE Upper Level Quantitative Reasoning
Card 1 of 128
The perimeter of a square is one yard. Which is the greater quantity?
(a) The area of the square
(b)
square foot
The perimeter of a square is one yard. Which is the greater quantity?
(a) The area of the square
(b) square foot
Tap to reveal answer
One yard is equal to three feet, so the length of one side of a square with this perimeter is
feet. The area of the square is
square feet.
, making (a) greater.
One yard is equal to three feet, so the length of one side of a square with this perimeter is feet. The area of the square is
square feet.
, making (a) greater.
← Didn't Know|Knew It →
Square 1 is inscribed inside a circle. The circle is inscribed inside Square 2.
Which is the greater quantity?
(a) Twice the area of Square 1
(b) The area of Square 2
Square 1 is inscribed inside a circle. The circle is inscribed inside Square 2.
Which is the greater quantity?
(a) Twice the area of Square 1
(b) The area of Square 2
Tap to reveal answer
Let
be the sidelength of Square 1. Then the length of a diagonal of this square - which is
times this sidelength, or
, by the
Theorem - is the same as the diameter of this circle, which, in turn, is equal to the sidelength of Square 2.
Therefore, Square 1 has area
, and Square 2 has area
, twice that of Square 1.
Let be the sidelength of Square 1. Then the length of a diagonal of this square - which is
times this sidelength, or
, by the
Theorem - is the same as the diameter of this circle, which, in turn, is equal to the sidelength of Square 2.
Therefore, Square 1 has area , and Square 2 has area
, twice that of Square 1.
← Didn't Know|Knew It →
Which is the greater quantity?
(A) The area of a square with sidelength one foot
(B) The area of a rectangle with length nine inches and height fourteen inches
Which is the greater quantity?
(A) The area of a square with sidelength one foot
(B) The area of a rectangle with length nine inches and height fourteen inches
Tap to reveal answer
The area of a square is the square of its sidelength, which here is 12 inches:
square inches.
The area of a rectangle is its length multiplied by its height, which, respectively, are 9 inches and 14 inches:
square inches.
The square has the greater area.
The area of a square is the square of its sidelength, which here is 12 inches:
square inches.
The area of a rectangle is its length multiplied by its height, which, respectively, are 9 inches and 14 inches:
square inches.
The square has the greater area.
← Didn't Know|Knew It →
A square lawn has sidelength twenty yards. Give its area in square feet.
A square lawn has sidelength twenty yards. Give its area in square feet.
Tap to reveal answer
20 yards converts to
feet. The area of a square is the square of its sidelength, so the area in square feet is
square feet.
20 yards converts to feet. The area of a square is the square of its sidelength, so the area in square feet is
square feet.
← Didn't Know|Knew It →
Four squares have sidelengths one meter, 120 centimeters, 140 centimeters, and 140 centimeters. Which is the greater quantity?
(A) The mean of their areas
(B) The median of their areas
Four squares have sidelengths one meter, 120 centimeters, 140 centimeters, and 140 centimeters. Which is the greater quantity?
(A) The mean of their areas
(B) The median of their areas
Tap to reveal answer
The areas of the squares are:
square centimeters (one meter being 100 centimeters)
square centimeters
square centimeters
square centimeters
The mean of these four areas is their sum divided by four:

square centimeters.
The median is the mean of the two middle values, or
square centimeters.
The median, (B), is greater.
The areas of the squares are:
square centimeters (one meter being 100 centimeters)
square centimeters
square centimeters
square centimeters
The mean of these four areas is their sum divided by four:
square centimeters.
The median is the mean of the two middle values, or
square centimeters.
The median, (B), is greater.
← Didn't Know|Knew It →
Rectangle A and Square B both have perimeter 2 meters. Rectangle A has width 25 centimeters. The area of Rectangle A is what percent of the area of Square B?
Rectangle A and Square B both have perimeter 2 meters. Rectangle A has width 25 centimeters. The area of Rectangle A is what percent of the area of Square B?
Tap to reveal answer
The perimeter of a rectangle can be given by the formula

Rectangle A has perimeter 2 meters, which is equal to 200 centimeters, and width 25 centimeters, so the length is:





The dimensions of Rectangle A are 75 centimeters and 25 centimeters, so its area is
square centimeters.
The sidelength of a square is one-fourth its perimeter, which here is
centimeters; its area is therefore
square centimeters.
The area of Rectangle A is therefore

that of Square B.
The perimeter of a rectangle can be given by the formula
Rectangle A has perimeter 2 meters, which is equal to 200 centimeters, and width 25 centimeters, so the length is:
The dimensions of Rectangle A are 75 centimeters and 25 centimeters, so its area is
square centimeters.
The sidelength of a square is one-fourth its perimeter, which here is
centimeters; its area is therefore
square centimeters.
The area of Rectangle A is therefore
that of Square B.
← Didn't Know|Knew It →
The sidelength of Square A is three-sevenths that of Square B. What is the ratio of the area of Square B to that of Square A?
The sidelength of Square A is three-sevenths that of Square B. What is the ratio of the area of Square B to that of Square A?
Tap to reveal answer
Since the ratio is the same regardless of the sidelengths, then for simplicity's sake, assume the sidelength of Square B is 7. The area of Square B is therefore the square of this, or 49.
Then the sidelength of Square A is three-sevenths of 7, or 3. Its area is the square of 3, or 9.
The ratio of the area of Square B to that of Square A is therefore 49 to 9.
Since the ratio is the same regardless of the sidelengths, then for simplicity's sake, assume the sidelength of Square B is 7. The area of Square B is therefore the square of this, or 49.
Then the sidelength of Square A is three-sevenths of 7, or 3. Its area is the square of 3, or 9.
The ratio of the area of Square B to that of Square A is therefore 49 to 9.
← Didn't Know|Knew It →
The lengths of the sides of ten squares form an arithmetic sequence. One side of the smallest square measures sixty centimeters; one side of the second-smallest square measures one meter.
Give the area of the largest square, rounded to the nearest square meter.
The lengths of the sides of ten squares form an arithmetic sequence. One side of the smallest square measures sixty centimeters; one side of the second-smallest square measures one meter.
Give the area of the largest square, rounded to the nearest square meter.
Tap to reveal answer
Let
be the lengths of the sides of the squares in meters.
and
, so their common difference is

The arithmetic sequence formula is

The length of a side of the largest square - square 10 - can be found by substituting
:

The largest square has sides of length 4.2 meters, so its area is the square of this, or
square meters.
Of the choices, 18 square meters is closest.
Let be the lengths of the sides of the squares in meters.
and
, so their common difference is
The arithmetic sequence formula is
The length of a side of the largest square - square 10 - can be found by substituting :
The largest square has sides of length 4.2 meters, so its area is the square of this, or square meters.
Of the choices, 18 square meters is closest.
← Didn't Know|Knew It →
The areas of six squares form an arithmetic sequence. The smallest square has perimeter 16; the second smallest square has perimeter 20. Give the area of the largest of the six squares.
The areas of six squares form an arithmetic sequence. The smallest square has perimeter 16; the second smallest square has perimeter 20. Give the area of the largest of the six squares.
Tap to reveal answer
The two smallest squares have perimeters 16 and 20, so their sidelengths are one fourth of these, or, respectively, 4 and 5. Their areas are the squares of these, or, respectively, 16 and 25. Therefore, in the arithmetic sequence,


and the common difference is
.
The area of the
th smallest square is

Setting
, the area of the largest (or sixth-smallest) square is

The two smallest squares have perimeters 16 and 20, so their sidelengths are one fourth of these, or, respectively, 4 and 5. Their areas are the squares of these, or, respectively, 16 and 25. Therefore, in the arithmetic sequence,
and the common difference is .
The area of the th smallest square is
Setting , the area of the largest (or sixth-smallest) square is
← Didn't Know|Knew It →
The perimeter of a square is
. Give the area of the square in terms of
.
The perimeter of a square is . Give the area of the square in terms of
.
Tap to reveal answer
The length of one side of a square is one fourth its perimeter. Since the perimeter of the square is
, the length of one side is

The area of the square is the square of this sidelength, or

The length of one side of a square is one fourth its perimeter. Since the perimeter of the square is , the length of one side is
The area of the square is the square of this sidelength, or
← Didn't Know|Knew It →
The sidelength of a square is
. Give its area in terms of
.
The sidelength of a square is . Give its area in terms of
.
Tap to reveal answer
The area of a square is the square of its sidelength. Therefore, square
:

The area of a square is the square of its sidelength. Therefore, square :
← Didn't Know|Knew It →
A diagonal of a square has length
. Give its area.
A diagonal of a square has length . Give its area.
Tap to reveal answer
A square being a rhombus, its area can be determined by taking half the product of the lengths of its (congruent) diagonals:

A square being a rhombus, its area can be determined by taking half the product of the lengths of its (congruent) diagonals:
← Didn't Know|Knew It →
Which is the greater quantity?
(a) The area of a square with sides of length
meters
(b) The area of a square with perimeter
centimeters
Which is the greater quantity?
(a) The area of a square with sides of length meters
(b) The area of a square with perimeter centimeters
Tap to reveal answer
A square with perimeter
centimeters has sides of length one-fourth of this, or
centimeters. Since one meter is equal to 100 centimeters, divide by 100 to get the equivalent in meters - this is

meters.
The square in (b) has sidelength less than that of the square in (a), so its area is also less than that in (a).
A square with perimeter centimeters has sides of length one-fourth of this, or
centimeters. Since one meter is equal to 100 centimeters, divide by 100 to get the equivalent in meters - this is
meters.
The square in (b) has sidelength less than that of the square in (a), so its area is also less than that in (a).
← Didn't Know|Knew It →
On the coordinate plane, Square A has as one side a segment with its endpoints at the origin and at the point with coordinates
. Square B has as one side a segment with its endpoints at the origin and at the point with coordinates
.
and
are both positive numbers and
. Which is the greater quantity?
(a) The area of Square A
(b) The area of Square B
On the coordinate plane, Square A has as one side a segment with its endpoints at the origin and at the point with coordinates . Square B has as one side a segment with its endpoints at the origin and at the point with coordinates
.
and
are both positive numbers and
. Which is the greater quantity?
(a) The area of Square A
(b) The area of Square B
Tap to reveal answer
The length of a segment with endpoints
and
can be found using the distance formula with
,
,
:



The length of a segment with endpoints
and
can be found using the distance formula with
,
,
:





The sides are of equal length, so the squares have equal area. Note that the fact that
is irrelevant to the question.
The length of a segment with endpoints and
can be found using the distance formula with
,
,
:
The length of a segment with endpoints and
can be found using the distance formula with
,
,
:
The sides are of equal length, so the squares have equal area. Note that the fact that is irrelevant to the question.
← Didn't Know|Knew It →
On the coordinate plane, Square A has as one side a segment with its endpoints at the origin and at the point with coordinates
. Square B has as one side a segment with its endpoints at the origin and at the point with coordinates
.
and
are both positive numbers. Which is the greater quantity?
(a) The area of Square A
(b) The area of Square B
On the coordinate plane, Square A has as one side a segment with its endpoints at the origin and at the point with coordinates . Square B has as one side a segment with its endpoints at the origin and at the point with coordinates
.
and
are both positive numbers. Which is the greater quantity?
(a) The area of Square A
(b) The area of Square B
Tap to reveal answer
It can be proved that the given information is insufficient to answer the question by looking at two cases.
Case 1: 
Square A has as a side a segment with endpoints at
and
, the length of which can be found using the distance formula with
,
,
:





This is the length of one side of Square A; the area of the square is the square of this, or 52.
Square B has as a side a segment with endpoints at
and
, the length of which can be found the same way:





This is the length of one side of Square B; the area of the square is the square of this, or 50. This makes Square A the greater in area.
Case 2: 
Square A has as a side a segment with endpoints at
and
; this was found earlier to be a square of area 50.
Square B has as a side a segment with endpoints at
and
, the length of which can be found using the distance formula with
,
,
:





This is the length of one side of Square B; the area of the square is the square of this, or 52. This makes Square B the greater in area.
It can be proved that the given information is insufficient to answer the question by looking at two cases.
Case 1:
Square A has as a side a segment with endpoints at and
, the length of which can be found using the distance formula with
,
,
:
This is the length of one side of Square A; the area of the square is the square of this, or 52.
Square B has as a side a segment with endpoints at and
, the length of which can be found the same way:
This is the length of one side of Square B; the area of the square is the square of this, or 50. This makes Square A the greater in area.
Case 2:
Square A has as a side a segment with endpoints at and
; this was found earlier to be a square of area 50.
Square B has as a side a segment with endpoints at and
, the length of which can be found using the distance formula with
,
,
:
This is the length of one side of Square B; the area of the square is the square of this, or 52. This makes Square B the greater in area.
← Didn't Know|Knew It →
On the coordinate plane, Square A has as one side a segment with its endpoints at the origin and at the point with coordinates
. Square B has as one side a segment with its endpoints at the origin and at the point with coordinates
.
and
are both positive numbers and
. Which is the greater quantity?
(a) The area of Square A
(b) The area of Square B
On the coordinate plane, Square A has as one side a segment with its endpoints at the origin and at the point with coordinates . Square B has as one side a segment with its endpoints at the origin and at the point with coordinates
.
and
are both positive numbers and
. Which is the greater quantity?
(a) The area of Square A
(b) The area of Square B
Tap to reveal answer
The length of a segment with endpoints
and
can be found using the distance formula with
,
,
:




This is the length of one side of Square A; the area of the square is the square of this, or
.
By similar reasoning, the length of a segment with endpoints
and
is

and the area of Square B is
.
Since
, and both are positive, it follows that




Square B has the greater area.
The length of a segment with endpoints and
can be found using the distance formula with
,
,
:
This is the length of one side of Square A; the area of the square is the square of this, or .
By similar reasoning, the length of a segment with endpoints and
is
and the area of Square B is
.
Since , and both are positive, it follows that
Square B has the greater area.
← Didn't Know|Knew It →
A square is made into a rectangle by increasing the width by 20% and decreasing the length by 20%. By what percentage has the area of the square changed?
A square is made into a rectangle by increasing the width by 20% and decreasing the length by 20%. By what percentage has the area of the square changed?
Tap to reveal answer
The area decreases by 20% of 20%, which is 4%.
The easiest way to see this is to plug in numbers for the sides of the square. If we are using percentages, it is easiest to use factors of 10 or 100. In this case we will say that the square has a side length of 10.
10% of 10 is 1, so 20% is 2. Now we can just increase one of the sides by 2, and decrease another side by 2. So our rectangle has dimensions of 12 x 8 instead of 10 x 10.
The original square had an area of 100, and the new rectangle has an area of 96. So the rectangle is 4 square units smaller, which is 4% smaller than the original square.
The area decreases by 20% of 20%, which is 4%.
The easiest way to see this is to plug in numbers for the sides of the square. If we are using percentages, it is easiest to use factors of 10 or 100. In this case we will say that the square has a side length of 10.
10% of 10 is 1, so 20% is 2. Now we can just increase one of the sides by 2, and decrease another side by 2. So our rectangle has dimensions of 12 x 8 instead of 10 x 10.
The original square had an area of 100, and the new rectangle has an area of 96. So the rectangle is 4 square units smaller, which is 4% smaller than the original square.
← Didn't Know|Knew It →
Side
shown in the diagram of square
below is equal to 21cm. What is the area of
?

Side shown in the diagram of square
below is equal to 21cm. What is the area of
?

Tap to reveal answer
To find the area of a quadrilateral, multiply length times width. In a square, since all sides are equal,
is both the length and width.

To find the area of a quadrilateral, multiply length times width. In a square, since all sides are equal, is both the length and width.
← Didn't Know|Knew It →
If Amy is carpeting her living room, which meaures
feet by
feet, how many square feet of carpet will she need?
If Amy is carpeting her living room, which meaures feet by
feet, how many square feet of carpet will she need?
Tap to reveal answer
To find the area of the floor, multiply the length of the room by the width (which is the same forumla used to find the area of a square). The equation can be written: 
Substitute
feet for
and
feet for
:

Amy will need
of carpet.
To find the area of the floor, multiply the length of the room by the width (which is the same forumla used to find the area of a square). The equation can be written:
Substitute feet for
and
feet for
:
Amy will need of carpet.
← Didn't Know|Knew It →
A rectangle and a square have the same perimeter. The rectangle has length
centimeters and width
centimeters. Give the area of the square.
A rectangle and a square have the same perimeter. The rectangle has length centimeters and width
centimeters. Give the area of the square.
Tap to reveal answer
The perimeter of the rectangle is
centimeters.
This is also the perimeter of the square, so divide this by
to get its sidelength:
centimeters.
The area is the square of this, or
square centimeters.
The perimeter of the rectangle is
centimeters.
This is also the perimeter of the square, so divide this by to get its sidelength:
centimeters.
The area is the square of this, or square centimeters.
← Didn't Know|Knew It →