Final answer:
To find the area of the shaded square in the student's problem, we need to calculate the difference in side lengths between the large and small squares. Then we use that length to calculate the area of the shaded square, which is the length squared.
Step-by-step explanation:
The problem involves calculating the area of squares and understanding how the area changes with varying side lengths. The area of a square is determined by squaring the side length (s2).
If one square has a side length of 4 inches and another has a side length that is twice as much (4 inches x 2 = 8 inches), the second square will have an area that is four times larger because the scale factor is squared (22 = 4).
In the context of the student's question, if the side length of the shaded square is found by subtracting the side length of the small squares from the large ones (7 units - 3 units), the shaded square would have a side length of 4 units, and thus its area would be 4 units2 = 16 square units.