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Using thedefinition of a square root, explain why is not a real number.
There is no real number such that

Ask by Flynn Tran. in the United States
Mar 28,2025

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Answer

Thus, is not a real number because there is no real number such that .

Solution

By definition, the square root of a number is a value such that . This means that for any real number , if is non-negative, there exists a real number such that .
In the case of , we are looking for a real number such that . However, the square of any real number is always non-negative (i.e., ). Therefore, there cannot be a real number that satisfies this equation since is negative.

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To understand why is not a real number, let’s look at the definition of a square root. A square root of a number is a number such that when you square it, you get (i.e., ). In this case, if were to equal , that would mean we need a real number whose square is a negative value. However, squaring any real number, whether positive or negative, always results in a non-negative value. Hence, there is no real number that can satisfy this equation, proving that is not a real number.
Furthermore, this leads us to the world of imaginary numbers! The concept of imaginary numbers was introduced to handle the square roots of negative numbers, allowing us to define as . Thus, can actually be expressed as . This concept expanded our understanding of numbers and enabled a myriad of applications in fields like engineering, physics, and complex number theory. So, while may not be a real number, it’s very much still a number in the innovative realm of complex mathematics!

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