The square root symbol is a mathematical sign which is denoted by “\[\sqrt{}\]”. In mathematics, you may have learned about different symbols that are used to perform different arithmetic operations. The square root symbol is used to represent the square root of any number. Many times this symbol is used for representing the one-half power or fractional exponent ½.
Representation of the Square Root of any Positive Number
The square root of any positive number ‘x’ is represented by \[\sqrt{x}\]. For example, the square root of natural number 3 is represented by \[\sqrt{3}\]. Similarly, the square root of other natural numbers like - 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, etc - is represented as \[\sqrt{2}\], \[\sqrt{4}\], \[\sqrt{5}\], \[\sqrt{6}\], \[\sqrt{7}\], \[\sqrt{10}\], and \[\sqrt{11}\], respectively.
Radical and Radicand
Radical is another name given to the square root symbol. It is also known as the surds. While Radicand is the number present under the square root symbol. In the above examples for the representation of square root of natural number, the symbol “ \[\sqrt{}\]” is called radical whereas the natural numbers present under the symbol like 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, and 11 are called the radicand.
Why do we Find the Square Root of any number?
The square root of any number is a number which when multiplied by itself gives the original number, present under the square root symbol. To understand this statement let us take an example if we multiply 2 by 2 itself, then we get 4, i.e, 2 x 2 = 4. Now, if we find the square root of 4 (i.e, \[\sqrt{4}\]), then it will be equal to 2, i.e. \[\sqrt{4}\] = 2.
