What is the square root of x squared?

1 Answer
George C.
May 31, 2015

The term 'the square root of X' is not quite precise as there are usually 2 square roots called sqrt(X) and -sqrt(X)

sqrt(x^2) = abs(x)

This is the positive square root of x^2.

-sqrt(x^2) = -abs(x) is also a square root of x^2

It's tempting to say sqrt(x^2) = x, but that's only true for x>=0

Related questions
See all questions in Simplification of Radical Expressions
Impact of this question
154222 views around the world
You can reuse this answer
Creative Commons License