learnbits.app· Geography

Squares, roots and powers

You learn to square numbers and find square roots.

Practise thisWhiteboardMake it a quiz

How to work it out

  1. A square (like 7²) is a number times itself: 7 × 7.
  2. The square root (√49) is exactly the opposite: which number times itself is 49?
4 × 4

A worked example

7²

  1. The little 2 above the number means square.
  2. Multiply the number by itself.
  3. Work out: 7 × 7 = 49.
  4. The answer is 49.
More examples

√64

  1. The square root sign asks: which number times itself is 64? Think of the times tables: 8 × 8 = 64.
  2. So √64 = 8.

3³

  1. A third power is multiplying by itself three times.
  2. Work out: 3 × 3 × 3 = 27.
  3. The answer is 27.

Try it yourself

  1. Work out the square (the number times itself)

    11² = ?

  2. Work out the square (the number times itself)

    6² = ?

Watch out

  • You multiply the number by 2 instead of by itself: you think 7² is 7 × 2 = 14.

    A square is always the number times itself: 7² = 7 × 7 = 49.

Tips

  • Squaring is times itself. The square root is the opposite question: which number times itself gives this?

Why it works

A square is a number multiplied by itself: the area of a square. Finding the square root is the opposite: you look for the side of the square.