Writing 'Square Foot'

Date: 05/05/2001 at 09:30:16
From: Gloria
Subject: Symbol for square foot

I am looking for a symbol for "square foot." I can't seem to find it 
anywhere - is there one?

Thanks for your time.
Gloria

Date: 05/05/2001 at 15:05:20
From: Doctor Terrel
Subject: Re: symbol for square foot

Hi Gloria,

Let's pretend you need to say, "The area of the tabletop is 10 square 
feet." I would prefer that younger students (pre-algebra and below) 
write "10 sq. ft."

Older students may write "10 ft^2" (in e-mail, that is, where we can't 
do superscripts). When done by pencil, the "2" is written raised and 
small, like an exponent (but it is NOT an exponent as in "5^2"). It 
should still be spoken as "10 square feet."

The same applies for all square units:  

     sq in  or  in^2
     sq cm  or  cm^2

When you need volume, it goes like this:

     SPOKEN              
     cubic feet:          cu ft     ft^3
     cubic inches:        cu in     in^3
     cubic centimeters:   cu cm     cm^3

Glad to help.

- Doctor Terrel, The Math Forum
  http://mathforum.org/dr.math/