Square root

https://arbital.com/p/square_root

by Travis Rivera Sep 20 2017 updated Sep 20 2017

What is the opposite of multiplying a number by itself?


Introduction

When you try to get the area of a square %%note: A shape where all sides are equal%% and know the length of a side %%note: Otherwise known as its root%% you multiply the length of one side by itself or square it.

area of square

What if you don't know the length of a side and instead only know the area of a square and want to get the length of a side? You would have to do something to the area that transforms it in the opposite direction that squaring the length of a side does. This is just like how placing 2 apples to a pile transforms a pile of apples by increasing the amount of apples and eating 2 apples transforms the pile back to the way it was. So in other words adding is to subtracting as squaring is to…. what?

Well this kind of transformation is called a Square Root.