To find the area of a square, multiply the base by itself. For example, if the base was 8 ins., then the area would be 8 ins. X 8 ins. = 16 sq. ins. The perimeter of a square is the distance around the outside of the square. Since the square has 4 sides and each side has 8 ins., the perimeter would be 4 X 8 ins. = 32 ins