The area of a regular octagon is given by the formula \(A = 2s^2(1 + \sqrt{2})\), where \(s\) is the side length of the octagon.
We know that \(s = 5.5\text{ in}\), so we just plug in that value into the equation to get:
\(A = 2(5.5^2)(1 + \sqrt{2})\)
\(A = 60.5(1 + \sqrt{2})\)
\(A = 60.5 + 60.5(1.414)\)
\(A = 60.5 + 85.547 = \fbox{$146.047 \text{ in}^2$}\) :D