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Theorem. If is a non-negative real number and
a positive integer then there is exactly one non-negative real number
such that
.
The (principal) th root of a non-negative real number
is the unique non-negative real number
such that
. It is denoted by
. When
, the
th root is called the square root (instead of
we write
), and when
, the
th root is called the cube root, etc. 1
Clearly, ,
for every positive integer
. Similarly
, and
for every real
.
Under some circumstances we can define also for
. If
is odd and
then we can define
. For thus defined
one should be careful with applications of rules governing the manipulations valid for principal
th roots.
If is a positive integer, and
are positive real numbers then
For an algorithms how to compute the th root visit
.
For algorithms for computing square roots visit .
For geometric constructions of square roots by compass and straightedge visit
.
To compute th root of a non-negative real number with higher precision got to
.
One should also distinguish between the th and a root of the equation
.
Theorem. If is not an
th power of a rational number then
is an irrational number.
1 | The symbol ![]() ![]() |
Cite this web-page as:
Štefan Porubský: Nth root.