How square roots are calculated
The square root of a number x is the value y such that y × y = x. Every positive number has two square roots: a positive one (the principal root) and a negative one. By convention, the square root symbol refers to the principal root.
Perfect squares — 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, and so on — have integer square roots. Non-perfect squares like 2, 3, and 5 have irrational roots that cannot be expressed as exact fractions.
√x = x^(1/2)
The square root of x is x raised to the power one-half.