First, by using the distance formula for just one side, we can find the length of all sides (a square has 4 equal sides.) Then, we can apply the area of a square formula, which is a^2.
Distance formula:
[tex]\sqrt{(x.2 - x.1)^{2} + (y.2 - y.1)^{2}}[/tex]
√((-2 + 5)^2 + (-8 + 4)^2)
√((3)^2 + (4)^2)
√9 + 16
√25
5
The side lengths of the square are each equal to 5, and by applying the formula for area, we can find the area of the square.
5^2 = 25