Is an inch the same as a square inch?

Answer 1

no it is not. A square ince is like a box with 1 inch running on EACH side, meaning each side of the box measures 1 inch. which would bring the total area of the square inch greater than just 1 inch. think of it as carpet, they sell by the square foot. It is easier to do it that way because you know exactly how much you are getting and cant be cheated if it is measured properly.

Answer: NO it is not

hope this explained it for you a lil better as well. if you need the full mathematical explination i can post it if you want as well but this will prob be easier to understand.

cheers

TM

An "inch" is a "linear measurement," so called because it can only be represented by a line, real or imaginary.

Regarding the square inch, the use of "box" might be misleading in that it can easily be mixed up with the explanation of "cubic inch." But, unlike linear measurements such as the inch, a square inch can be seen as an infinite number of flat shapes. Having said that, let's look at the clearest picture for explaining the square inch. A four sided figure drawn on a piece of paper whose four corners are 90 degree (right) angles and the four sides of which are 1" long would be a picture of a "square inch," or in some regions, "an inch square." But any shape of closed figure which contains the same amount of "white space" is also a square inch because square inch is a measurement of area or flat space contained within a closed border whereas an inch, being a linear (line-like) measurement can only measure the distance between two points (although not necessarily the shortest distance between those two points); a line may be curved and still one inch long even though we usually think of a linear measurement as being "the shortest distance between two points," or a straight line.

To obtain a clearer picture of what a square inch is, consider the "square foot," a flat figure best shown the same as the square inch above except that the four sides are 12 inches long (12 linear inches = 1 linear foot). Since we know that there are 12 inches in a foot, why shouldn't there, then, be 12 square inches in a square foot. Here is a quick way to see why that isn't true. On a piece of paper, cardboard, marker board, or anything flat and writable, draw a picture of a large square, making the four sides as even as possible. Now mark, as evenly as possible, 13 dots along all four sides (Why 13? Because there must be a beginning point). Then as accurately as possible, draw straight lines between the dots on the top and bottom sides and on the left and right sides. Now start counting the resulting "boxes" or squares. When you reach twelve, notice that there are a whole bunch of squares left. I'll save you time, the total is 144. 12 up and 12 across; 12 times 12 equals 144. Make sense? I hope so.