The formula for the area of a square is: $\displaystyle{A}={{s}}^{{2}}\usepackage{cmbright}\Huge\$

Substitute the value $\displaystyle{s}={16}\usepackage{cmbright}\Huge\$ :

$\displaystyle{A}={{\left({16}\right)}}^{{2}}={256}\usepackage{cmbright}\Huge\$

The area of the square tile is 256 square centimeters.