Answer:
The area of a square is given by the formula A = s^2, where s is the side length. If Doug has 8 square pieces of wood, each with a side length of s centimeters, the total area of all the pieces can be expressed as:
8s^2 = 200
To solve for s, we can simplify the equation by dividing both sides by 8:
s^2 = 25
Now we can create a quadratic equation by subtracting 25 from both sides:
s^2 - 25 = 0
This is a quadratic equation in standard form, where the coefficient of the squared term is 1, the coefficient of the linear term is 0, and the constant term is -25. Doug can use this equation to find the side length of each piece of wood by solving for s using methods such as factoring, completing the square, or using the quadratic formula.