Square root of decimal numbers

The steps we have to follow to calculate a square root of a decimal number are very similar to those we follow to calculate the square root of a natural number.

  1. Starting at the comma and moving from left to right, group the digits in two. If the number of fractional digits is odd, add a zero at the end.
  2. The square root is calculated without the commas (bearing in mind the added zero at the end, if it is necessary to add it!).
  3. We write down the solution with as many fractional digits as there are pairs of fractional digits in the number which root we are calculating. That is, if there are $$4$$ fractional digits, we write down the result with $$2$$, and if there are $$5$$, since is added a zero at the end of the radicand, there will be $$3$$ fractional digits in the result.

Note : As it happens with the natural numbers, the calculation of the square root is quite slow. As with natural numbers, it is recommended that we simplify the root before calculating it in the decimal radicands case, and it can be interesting, in some cases, to find the equivalent fraction and simplify it before calculating the root.

Find the square root of $$54321,231$$ The equivalent fraction does not simplify the calculation of the root.

  1. The number is written as follows: $$54321, \ \ 23 \ \ 10$$

  2. Calculate the square root of the natural number $$\sqrt{543212310}=23307$$

  3. We write as many fractional digits as there are pairs of fractional digits in the radicand (including the added zero), which is to say $$2$$. $$\sqrt{54321, \ \ 23 \ \ 10}=233,07$$