Metric Area

These are the most common measurements of area (from smallest to largest):

• Square Millimeter
• Square Centimeter
• Square Meter
• Hectare
• Square Kilometer

Ariel the Dog is waiting patiently
inside 1 square meter.

Square Meter

The square meter is the basic unit of area of the Metric System.

Area is length by length, so:

A square that is 1 meter on each side
is 1 square meter.

The Unit is meters × meters, which is written m² (square meters).

You could have other shapes (such as a rectangle that is ½ a meter by 2 meters) that also make 1 square meter.

Example: How big is this rectangle?

It is 2 meters by 3 meters, so it is 2 m × 3 m = 6 m²