Square Root Calculator

The answer, the simplified radical and the working — so the next one you can do in your head

Type any number to get its square root to four decimal places, the exact simplified form, the two perfect squares it sits between and the estimate you can make without a calculator. The working matters more than the answer: once you can see that √60 sits between √49 and √64, closer to 64, you can place any root in a second.

Frequently asked questions

What is the square root of 60?

About 7.746. In exact form it is 2√15, because 60 = 4 × 15 and √4 = 2. It sits between 7 (√49) and 8 (√64).

How do you simplify a square root?

Find the largest perfect square that divides the number, take its root outside the radical and leave the rest inside. √72 = √(36 × 2) = 6√2.

How do you estimate a square root without a calculator?

Find the perfect squares either side, then place the number between them by distance. √40: between 36 and 49, 4 of the 13 steps up, so about 6.3. The true value is 6.32.

Can you take the square root of a negative number?

Not as a real number — no real number times itself is negative. In complex numbers √−9 = 3i, but this calculator works with real numbers only.

Is the square root of 169 exactly 13?

Yes. 13 × 13 = 169, so 169 is a perfect square and its root is a whole number. That is also why 169 ÷ 13 = 13.