Final answer:
When the side length of a square is doubled, the area of the square is multiplied by 4. This is due to the square of the scale factor, which in this case is 2² = 4.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question concerns how the area of a square changes when its side length is doubled. If the original square has a side length of 4 inches, then the area is 4 inches × 4 inches = 16 square inches. When the side length is doubled to 8 inches, the new area becomes 8 inches × 8 inches = 64 square inches. This is because the area of a square is calculated by squaring its side length.
The formula for the area of a square is side length squared, so if the side length is doubled, the area is multiplied by 4 (since 2² = 4). Thus, when Marta doubles the side length of the square, she is effectively quadrupling its area.