Leslie H. answered • 08/20/13
College and University Math Tutor
When you take the square root of a number, there are two types of answers you might get: A nice number (a whole number or integer) or a not-nice number (a decimal or fraction)*. If you get a nice whole number, then the square root you started with has been simplified. That number is rational**. If you get a not-so-nice number, then the square root you started with is called irrational.
√(17) is irrational, because it's not a "nice" number. √(64) is rational, because it simplifies to 8, a "nice" number.
Math trivia: In Europe, non-nice-number square roots are called "surds". Yup, really!
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*It's not really true that decimals and fractions are "not nice" but people do tend to think of them that way. Really, they're just numbers like 7 and 12; they just look different - don't discriminate against them. ;)
**Rational numbers are numbers that can be written as ratios. Ratio is really just a fancy word that means fraction.
Kamala H.
On a test I got a question like - square root of 17 is a number between ____? How am I suppose to solve this?!10/14/20
Chris M.
Use the largest number multiplied by itself you can use without exceeding the radicand.(number under the symbol). In this case 4 because : 4(4)=16. Then the next number being 5 must be the higher number of the two the actual irrational square root falls between.03/27/21
Cyrena B.
your amazing at explaining this!!!!01/07/20