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The square root is generally positive or negative and it is only the context of the question that will tell you whether it is the positive root or the negative root.

For example, if you are solving for the lengths of the sides of a square, a negative measure makes no sense so it must be the positive root.

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Q: How can you tell when to put the 'positive and negative' sign when you square root something?
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What 2 numbers would be the square root of 53?

Every positive integer has two square roots, a positive square root and a negative square root. This is because, just like a positive number multiplied by a positive number is equal to a positive number, a negative number multiplied by a negative number is equal to a positive number. Therefore, rounded to two decimal places, the positive square root is equal to 7.28, and the negative square root is -7.28.


Is the square root of any real number always positive?

The square root of a real number is not always positive. The square root of any positive number is positive, the square root of zero is zero (not positive), and the square root of a negative number is complex (i.e. neither positive nor negative). The square root of 16 = -4 or 4. The square root of 0 = 0 The square root of -16 = -4i or 4i


What is the negative square root of 100?

The square root of 100 is 10 but positive and a negative is a negative so it is negative 10


Is negative square root of 21 irrational?

Yes, as is the positive square root.


What is the square root of a square?

√(a^2) That is |a| (the absolute value of a) Because if a is positive, a^2 is positive, and since √ is a positive square root, √(a^2) is a. If a is negative, a^2 is positive, and since √ is a positive square root, √(a^2) is -a. So if a is positive, √(a^2) is positive (which is a) If a is negative, √(a^2) is also positive (which is -a) So √(a^2) is |a| for every a.


How is it possible to have a positive or negative answer to the square root of a number?

What do you get when you multiply positive 3 by itself ? (You get 9.) What do you get when you multiply negative 3 by itself ? (You get 9 again.) The square root of a number is something which, when you multiply it by itself, gives you the number. When we multiplied positive 3 by itself, we got 9. So positive 3 is a square root of 9. When we multiplied negative 3 by itself, we got 9 again. So negative 3 is also a square root of 9. Every positive number has two square roots. They're both the same digits, but one is positive and the other one is negative.


What is equal to square root of -8?

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Why square root of negative 36 is not a real number?

When you multiply any number by itself, the result is always positive. You cannot take any real number and square it to get something negative. The square root of -36 is 6i.


What is a principal square root?

The principal square root is the non-negative square root.


Why cant you evaluate the square root of negative twenty five using real numbers?

using basic math principles, you can't find the square root of a negative number because in order for a number to be a square root, you have to multiply it by itself to get your radical. since a negative times a negative and a positive times a positive are both positive, it is impossible to find the square root of a negative number


What is the nonenegative square root of a number?

Every number has two square roots ... a positive one and a negative one. Example: +2 and -2 are both square roots of 4, because when you multiply either of them by itself, the answer is 4. The positive square root of a number is the square root that's not negative. The non-negative square root of a number is the positive one.


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Definition of Square Root: The Square Root of a number 'X' is equal to 'A' when X=A*A By definition, the square root of a positive number has two answers, one negative and one positive, that have equal magnitudes. i.e. The square roots of 4 are 2 and -2. The Non-Negative Square Root is simply asking for the positive root.