What is one mile squared

Question

Cause a square mile is multiplying the miles by itself so squaring it but one squared in math is just one so I dont get it!

P.S. I know this sounds stupid but yeah

Answer 1

All questions are valid if they are going to help in your understanding!

When you square a distance it is like finding the area of a square (the quadrilateral) with a side that is equal to the given distance. So when you square 1 mi you get 1mi^2, which is just the area covered by a square with the side of 1mi.

Remember that since the units are different, 1mi and 1mi^2 denote two completely different concepts. 1mi is a distance, while 1mi^2 is an area. I know this is confusing but please let me know if you need any more clarification!