In how many ways, 48 small squares of 1 cm × 1 cm can be arranged so that the resulting area is 48 cm²?

We need to find the number of ways 48 unit squares can be arranged into rectangles with area 48 cm². This requires finding pairs of factors of 48. The factor pairs are: 1×48, 2×24, 3×16, 4×12, 6×8. That gives us 5 distinct rectangular arrangements. Since the question asks for distinct arrangements (where m×n is the same as n×m), there are 5 ways to arrange the squares to form rectangles with area 48 cm².