The area of a square mat is 125 square inches. The best approximation of its length is inches. If the length of each side is increased by another inch, the area would increase by approximately square inches.

The area of a square is simply the side length squared and we are given that the area is 125 so:

s^2=125

s=√125

s=5√5

Now using the area equation again, and adding 1 inch to s we have:

A = (s+1) ^2, and using s found above we have:

A = (5√5+1) ^2

A=125+10√5+1

A=126+10√5 in^2

A≈148.36 in^2 (to nearest hundredth of a square inch)