A square has 4 equal sides. This means that the formula for the perimeter is 4s = P, or the product of 4 times one side length is equivalent to the perimeter. With this information, we are now ready to move onto the next step. Let's set up an equation to solve for the length of each side.
4S = P;
4S = 38.
Now we are ready to solve. As we want to isolate our variable, S, we must divide both sides by 4 (remember that what you do to one side of the equation, you must do to the other).
4S / 4 = S
38 / 4 = 9.5
We are now left with the remaining solution:
S = 9.5.
The length of each side is 9.5 inches.
I hope this helps!