answer:@Val123: Are you sure about this? Area of a rectangle with sides a and b is axb. A exceptional rectangle is a square with the same length legs on all four sides. Area is a x a = a^2. You have the radius squared when finding the area of a circle, but that is because of the definition of pi. (The number of times the radius can be laid around the circumference. So the area is the radius squared (the area of the square) x pi, which shaves off the areas between the square and circumscribed circle. (That was clear, I bet.) Check out the site; the pictures make more sense. http://www.mathsisfun.com/area.html