To find the area of the flower bed that Madeline wants to plant, we can use the formula for the area of a circle:
\[ A = \pi r^2 \]
where \( A \) is the area and \( r \) is the radius.
First, we'll calculate the radius of the flower bed. Since the diameter of the flower bed is 30 inches, the radius \( r \) is:
\[ r = \frac{d}{2} = \frac{30}{2} = 15 \text{ inches} \]
Now, we can use the radius to calculate the area of the flower bed:
\[ A = \pi (15)^2 = \pi (225) \]
Using \( \pi \approx 3.14159 \):
\[ A \approx 3.14159 \times 225 \approx 706.85775 \]
Rounding to the nearest hundredth, the area of the flower bed is approximately:
\[ A \approx 706.86 \text{ in}^2 \]
So the correct answer is:
706.86 in.²