What is the radical form of 1.732? Also -1.732 if that's a different answer?

Question

Also, could I have a brief explanation of how to do it? Sorry if the question doesn't make sense. My math teacher asked that for homework and I have no clue what he means.

Answer 1

The Square root of 3 is +/- 1.7321

When you take a square root, the answer includes both the positive and negative number. For even powers(square, 4th, 6th, etc) a negative number squared is the same value as its opposite squared: for example 2² =4 and -2² =4

Answer 2

If you are looking for a number who's square root is 1.732, then square 1.732 in your calculator and see what you get.

(1.732)² ≈ ? (it might not give you an exact integer because 1.732 is a rounded off square root)

Regarding the second part of your question (-1.732), remember that the square root of 4 is not only 2 but also -2, and the reason is that 2² = 4 and (-2)² = 4. So a square root has two answers, both a "+" and a "-".