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Math 7 · Mathematics
Numbers · Natural numbers

Square Roots

Before you start, make sure you know: Square root (Math 6)
Before you start, make sure you know: Properties of powers (Math 6)

Aaliyah is sewing a square quilt from $64$ identical square patches. How many patches go along each side? To answer, you need the opposite of squaring a number: the square root.

What Is a Square Root?

Squaring a number means multiplying it by itself: $8^2 = 8 \times 8 = 64$. The square root goes the other way. It starts from $64$ and asks, "Which number times itself gives $64$?"

Dots make this easy to see. If you can arrange $N$ dots in a square grid with nothing left over, the number of dots in one row is $\sqrt{N}$.

A 4 by 4 array of 16 dots showing that 16 is a perfect square and its square root is 4 4 rows × 4 columns 16 dots = 4² √16 = 4

Change the area below and watch the side of the square change.

Pair each power with its root and you will start to remember them: $12^2 = 144$ means $\sqrt{144} = 12$.

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Work out mentally the value of the following exact square roots using the multiplication tables: a) $\sqrt{36}$ b) $\sqrt{64}$ c) $\sqrt{81}$ d) $\sqrt{100}$ e)…

Work out mentally the value of the following exact square roots using the multiplication tables:

  1. a) $\sqrt{36}$
  2. b) $\sqrt{64}$
  3. c) $\sqrt{81}$
  4. d) $\sqrt{100}$
  5. e) $\sqrt{121}$
Solve
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Match each power with its corresponding root in your notebook, as in the example: Example: $7^2 = 49 \rightarrow \sqrt{49} = 7$* a) $4^2 = 16$ b) $9^2 = 81$ c)…

Match each power with its corresponding root in your notebook, as in the example:

Example: $7^2 = 49 \rightarrow \sqrt{49} = 7$

  1. a) $4^2 = 16$
  2. b) $9^2 = 81$
  3. c) $12^2 = 144$
  4. d) $15^2 = 225$
Solve
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Look at the following mosaic formed by dots. What natural number represents the total number of dots? What is its square root?

Look at the following mosaic formed by dots. What natural number represents the total number of dots? What is its square root?

5 5
Solve

Area and Side Length

The most common use of square roots in Math 7 is geometry. The area of a square is $A = s^2$, so the side is $s = \sqrt{A}$.

A square with area 144 square feet; its side length is the square root of 144, which is 12 feet Area = 144 ft² s = √144 = 12 ft s
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Lucy's bedroom is square-shaped and has a total area of $16$ square feet. How long is the wall of her bedroom?

Lucy's bedroom is square-shaped and has a total area of $16$ square feet. How long is the wall of her bedroom?

1 ft² Area = 16 ft² L = ? L = ?
Solve
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Emma is designing a collage with square photos of side $10\text{ cm}$. She wants to place them on a square piece of cardstock whose area is $2500\text{ cm}^2$ without…

Emma is designing a collage with square photos of side $10\text{ cm}$. She wants to place them on a square piece of cardstock whose area is $2500\text{ cm}^2$ without leaving gaps between them.

  1. What is the side length of the piece of cardstock?

  2. How many of Emma's photos fit on the piece of cardstock in total?

Solve
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The area of a square garden is $676$ $m^2$. A security fence costing $\$12,50$ per linear foot is to be installed around the garden. However, an opening of $2,5…

The area of a square garden is $676$ $m^2$. A security fence costing $\$12,50$ per linear foot is to be installed around the garden. However, an opening of $2,5$ feet must be left for a gate on one of the sides. Calculate the total budget for the installation of the fence.

Cost: $12.50/ft Garden area 676 sq ft Gate 2.5 ft L = ?
Solve

Between Which Two Whole Numbers?

What is $\sqrt{30}$? It is not a perfect square, so there is no whole-number answer. In fact, the square root of a whole number that is not a perfect square is always a decimal that never ends and never repeats (an irrational number). We can't write it exactly as a decimal, so we estimate it by trapping it between perfect squares we know.

Number line from 5 to 6 showing that the square root of 30 lies between 5.4 and 5.5 √30 5 5.4 5.5 6 5² = 25 6² = 36

To get closer, check the tenths. A quick way to square a decimal: $5.4^2$ is $54^2 = 2916$ with the decimal point moved two places, so $29.16$.

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Indicate between which two consecutive natural numbers the following square roots lie. Look at the example: Example: $\sqrt{10}$ is between $3$ and $4$ because $3^2=9$…

Indicate between which two consecutive natural numbers the following square roots lie. Look at the example:

Example: $\sqrt{10}$ is between $3$ and $4$ because $3^2=9$ and $4^2=16$.

  1. a) $\sqrt{20}$
  2. b) $\sqrt{45}$
  3. c) $\sqrt{70}$
  4. d) $\sqrt{95}$
Solve
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Indicate, without using a calculator, between which two consecutive natural numbers the following square roots lie. Reason your answer based on the nearest perfect…

Indicate, without using a calculator, between which two consecutive natural numbers the following square roots lie. Reason your answer based on the nearest perfect squares:

  1. a) $\sqrt{45}$
  1. b) $\sqrt{115}$
Solve
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Determine, without using a calculator and reasoning your answer by calculating nearby perfect squares, between which two natural numbers with one decimal place the…

Determine, without using a calculator and reasoning your answer by calculating nearby perfect squares, between which two natural numbers with one decimal place the square root of $75$ lies.

(Example: $\sqrt{20}$ is between $4,4$ and $4,5$ because $4,4^2 = 19,36$ and $4,5^2 = 20,25$).

Squares (x²) Roots (x) 8,6² = 73,96 8,7² = 75,69 73,96 75 75,69 8,6 √75 8,7 8.6 < √75 < 8.7
Solve

Largest Square and Leftovers

Often you have a number of objects that is not a perfect square. Jayden has $90$ bottle caps and wants a square display. He can't use all of them, so he builds the largest square he can. The side of that square is the integer square root.

The number 70 is trapped between the perfect squares 64 and 81, so its integer square root is 8 and its remainder is 6 64 8² ≤ 70 < 81 9² integer square root of 70 = 8 remainder = 70 − 64 = 6
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Marcus wants to organize his collection of $40$ action figures in a square display cabinet. a) What is the largest perfect square he can form with his figures? b) How…

Marcus wants to organize his collection of $40$ action figures in a square display cabinet.

  1. a) What is the largest perfect square he can form with his figures?
  2. b) How many figures will be left over if he forms that square?
  3. c) How many figures would he be missing to be able to form the next largest square?
Solve
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In a building video game, a player has $150$ stone blocks to create the base of a square tower. Calculate: 1. The side length of the largest square base they can build.…

In a building video game, a player has $150$ stone blocks to create the base of a square tower. Calculate:

  1. The side length of the largest square base they can build.

  2. The number of blocks that will be left over after construction.

L² L maximum side L + R left over = 150 blocks
Solve
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A logistics company wants to store $196$ packages of medical supplies in a square-plan warehouse. If the packages must be placed forming a perfect square on the floor,…

A logistics company wants to store $196$ packages of medical supplies in a square-plan warehouse. If the packages must be placed forming a perfect square on the floor, how many packages will there be on each side? If they later receive another $30$ packages and want to form the largest possible square again, how many packages will be left over?

Solve

How Big Can the Remainder Be?

Suppose a number has integer square root $a$. What is the biggest remainder it can have? Look at what it takes to grow an $a \times a$ square into the next square, $(a+1) \times (a+1)$. You add one new row and one new column.

A 4 by 4 square grows into a 5 by 5 square by adding an L-shaped strip of 4 plus 4 plus 1 equals 9 squares 4 × 4 = 16 4 4 1 Old square: 4² = 16 L-shape: 4 + 4 + 1 = 9 New square: 5² = 25

The L-shape has $a + a + 1 = 2a + 1$ squares. So if a number has $2a + 1$ or more items beyond $a^2$, it has enough to build the next square, and the integer root would be bigger.

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It is known that a natural number has an integer square root equal to $15$ and its remainder is the largest possible. What number are we talking about? (Hint: The…

It is known that a natural number has an integer square root equal to $15$ and its remainder is the largest possible. What number are we talking about?

(Hint: The remainder of a root cannot be equal to or greater than $2 \cdot \text{raíz} + 1$).

15² 15 15 +1 15 15 1 missing for 16² N = 15 Resto = Rₘₐₓ N = 15² + Rₘₐₓ Rₘₐₓ = 2·15 = 30
Solve
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Knowing that a natural number $N$ has an integer square root of $a = 45$, calculate the largest value that this number $N$ can take and what its remainder is in that…

Knowing that a natural number $N$ has an integer square root of $a = 45$, calculate the largest value that this number $N$ can take and what its remainder is in that case. Take into account the property that relates the remainder to the integer root so that the approximation is maximum.

a = 45 1 a = 45 1 a² 45² = 2025 + a + a Maximum remainder R = 2a R = 90 Final gap +1 is needed to reach (a+1)² Number N N = a² + R N = ?
Solve

Square Formations and Borders

Word problems about square formations often combine a few steps: percent, integer root, remainder, and "how many more to reach the next square?"

Another popular puzzle: a square made of tiles with a border one tile wide.

A 5 by 5 square of tiles whose one-tile-wide border has 16 tiles and whose inside is a 3 by 3 square of 9 tiles 5 × 5 square Border: 4 × 4 = 16 Inside: 3 × 3 = 9 16 + 9 = 25 = 5²

A side has $n$ tiles, but each corner tile belongs to two sides. So the border has $4n - 4 = 4(n - 1)$ tiles.

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A middle school chess club has $85$ enrolled students. For the official school photo, the photographer wants to arrange them to form a perfect square. 1. How many…

A middle school chess club has $85$ enrolled students. For the official school photo, the photographer wants to arrange them to form a perfect square.

  1. How many students will be left out of the photo if they want to form the largest possible square?

  2. How many students would be missing to be able to add one more row and column to the previous square so that no one is left out?

Solve
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A logistics company wants to organize a fleet of $2\,500$ drones in a perfectly square formation for a night show. Due to a technical failure, $15\%$ of the drones…

A logistics company wants to organize a fleet of $2\,500$ drones in a perfectly square formation for a night show. Due to a technical failure, $15\%$ of the drones cannot take off. Calculate:

  1. The side of the largest square they can form with the remaining operational drones.

  2. How many drones are left over after forming this square.

  3. How many additional operational drones they would need to add one more row and column to the square so that it remains complete.

Solve
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A square platform has been built by joining square plastic pieces of $1$ $dm^2$ each. To border the entire platform, $156$ blue pieces have been used (forming the outer…

A square platform has been built by joining square plastic pieces of $1$ $dm^2$ each. To border the entire platform, $156$ blue pieces have been used (forming the outer perimeter one piece wide).

  1. What is the total area of the platform in $dm^2$?

  2. What is the exact square root of this area?

Interior (n−2)² n
Solve

Square Roots of Products and Quotients

Big radicands can look scary, but you can often split them into friendly pieces.

Square roots can be split over a product but not over a sum Product: you can split √(9 · 100) = 30 √9 · √100 = 3 · 10 = 30 Sum: you can't split √(9 + 16) = √25 = 5 √9 + √16 = 3 + 4 = 7

Some problems write division with a colon, like $3600 : 4$. That just means $3600 \div 4$.

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Apply the property of the root of a product to calculate the following roots more simply, as shown in the model: Model:…

Apply the property of the root of a product to calculate the following roots more simply, as shown in the model:

Model: $\sqrt{4 \cdot 25} = \sqrt{4} \cdot \sqrt{25} = 2 \cdot 5 = 10$

  1. a) $\sqrt{9 \cdot 100}$
  2. b) $\sqrt{16 \cdot 25}$
  3. c) $\sqrt{4 \cdot 81}$
Solve
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Use the properties of roots to solve in the simplest possible way: a) $\sqrt{9 \cdot 16 \cdot 25}$ b) $\sqrt{3600 : 4}$ c) $\sqrt{100 \cdot 49}$

Use the properties of roots to solve in the simplest possible way:

  1. a) $\sqrt{9 \cdot 16 \cdot 25}$
  1. b) $\sqrt{3600 : 4}$
  1. c) $\sqrt{100 \cdot 49}$
Solve

Order of Operations with Roots

The radical sign works like an exponent in the order of operations. It also works like a grouping symbol: everything under the radical sign gets simplified first.

Order of operations: parentheses and radicands first, then exponents and roots, then multiplication and division, then addition and subtraction 1. Parentheses and anything under a √ 2. Exponents and roots 3. × and ÷, left to right 4. + and −, left to right

With negative numbers, be extra careful with signs.

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Solve the following combined operations respecting the order of operations: a) $10 + \sqrt{49}$ b) $3 \cdot \sqrt{25} - 2^2$ c) $\sqrt{64} : 2 + 5$ d)…

Solve the following combined operations respecting the order of operations:

  1. a) $10 + \sqrt{49}$
  2. b) $3 \cdot \sqrt{25} - 2^2$
  3. c) $\sqrt{64} : 2 + 5$
  4. d) $(\sqrt{100} - 4) \cdot 3$
Solve
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Calculate the value of the following expressions respecting the order of operations: a) $3 \cdot \sqrt{81} - 2^2 \cdot (10 - \sqrt{49})$ b)…

Calculate the value of the following expressions respecting the order of operations:

  1. a) $3 \cdot \sqrt{81} - 2^2 \cdot (10 - \sqrt{49})$
  1. b) $(\sqrt{100} - 2^3)^2 + \sqrt{144} : 3$
Solve
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Calculate the value of the following combined expression, paying attention to the order of operations and the properties of roots: $$ \sqrt{144} : (-3) + [(-2)^3 \cdot…

Calculate the value of the following combined expression, paying attention to the order of operations and the properties of roots:

$$ \sqrt{144} : (-3) + [(-2)^3 \cdot \sqrt{25} - (-4)^2] - \sqrt{169 \cdot 4} $$
Solve

Roots of Big Numbers

What if the radicand has four digits or more? You can use some clues, a step-by-step algorithm, and what you know about powers of ten.

Clues from the last digit

Square the digits $0$ through $9$ and look at the last digit of the result:

Root ends in 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Square ends in 0 1 4 9 6 5 6 9 4 1

So a perfect square can only end in $0, 1, 4, 5, 6,$ or $9$. It never ends in $2, 3, 7,$ or $8$.

Digit-by-digit algorithm

This method builds the root one digit at a time. It works because $(10a + d)^2 = 100a^2 + (20a + d) \times d$.

Roots and powers of ten

Pairs of zeros come out of a root as single zeros: $\sqrt{10^{2n}} = 10^n$. Combining this with the product property gives a rule for numbers in standard form.

If $a$ isn't a perfect square, bracket it. For example, $\sqrt{7 \times 10^6} = \sqrt{7} \times 10^3$, and since $2.6^2 = 6.76$ and $2.7^2 = 7.29$, the result is about $2.6 \times 10^3$.

Formulas with a squared variable need one more step. For a circle, $A \approx 3r^2$ if we use $\pi \approx 3$. To find $r$, divide by $3$ first, then take the square root.

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Find the value of the digit $k$ so that the number $7\,05k$ is a perfect square. Once found, calculate the square root of this number using the step-by-step algorithm.…

Find the value of the digit $k$ so that the number $7\,05k$ is a perfect square. Once found, calculate the square root of this number using the step-by-step algorithm. (Hint: The number is between $80^2$ and $90^2$).

Solve
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An astronomer observes a nebula whose apparent surface in the sky is approximately circular. If the calculated area is $5,76 \cdot 10^{10}$ $km^2$: 1. Express this…

An astronomer observes a nebula whose apparent surface in the sky is approximately circular. If the calculated area is $5,76 \cdot 10^{10}$ $km^2$:

  1. Express this amount in standard decimal notation.

  2. Calculate the radius of this nebula knowing that the area of a circle is approximated by the formula $A \approx 3 \cdot r^2$ (using $\pi \approx 3$ to simplify).

  3. Express the result of the radius in standard form.

Solve

Back to the start: Aaliyah's quilt has $64$ patches in a square, so each side has $\sqrt{64} = 8$ patches.

Summary

See all the exercises in this section