answersLogoWhite

0


Best Answer

No. To find the square root of any number, you try to find what number, multiplied by itself gives you that number. For instance, I know the square root of 16 is 4, because 4*4 gives me 16.

If I wanted to find the square root of -16, I cannot think of any number, multiplied by itself to give me -16. 4*-4 works. -4*4 works. But since they are NOT the same, I don't get an answer.

Your real answer will be an imaginary number. Therefore, it isn't positive or negative.

User Avatar

Wiki User

12y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: Is the square root of a negative number positive?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Continue Learning about Math & Arithmetic

What 2 numbers would be the square root of 53?

Every positive integer has two square roots, a positive square root and a negative square root. This is because, just like a positive number multiplied by a positive number is equal to a positive number, a negative number multiplied by a negative number is equal to a positive number. Therefore, rounded to two decimal places, the positive square root is equal to 7.28, and the negative square root is -7.28.


What is a number that is a square root of a negative number?

I think it is Xi (whatever the square root of the positive is times i). i is an imaginary number that when you square it, it becomes negative. eg. the square root of -4 is 2i. Without "i", it would be impossible to square root a negative number, as any number times itself will always equal a positive.


What are the two square roots of 256?

A positive number has two square roots, its principal (positive) root and its negative root. This is because a negative number multiplied by a negative number equals a positive number. In this instance, the square roots of 256 are 16 and -16.


Why cant you evaluate the square root of negative twenty five using real numbers?

using basic math principles, you can't find the square root of a negative number because in order for a number to be a square root, you have to multiply it by itself to get your radical. since a negative times a negative and a positive times a positive are both positive, it is impossible to find the square root of a negative number


How many square roots can a positive number have?

Every positive number has two square roots, though the roots are not always whole numbers (or even rational numbers). The more obvious of each numbers roots is the positive one.The positive square root of 4 is 2, because 2*2=4.The positive square root of 5 is roughly 2.236068.The other square root of a number is the negative inverse of their positive root. This is because when two negative numbers are multiplied together the negative signs "cancel out", leaving a positive number.The negative square root of 4 is -2, because -2*-2=4.The negative square root of 5 is roughly -2.236068.Zero has only one square root, itself, and no negative number has any (real number) square roots, since no number multiplied by itself will result in a negative.

Related questions

What 2 numbers would be the square root of 53?

Every positive integer has two square roots, a positive square root and a negative square root. This is because, just like a positive number multiplied by a positive number is equal to a positive number, a negative number multiplied by a negative number is equal to a positive number. Therefore, rounded to two decimal places, the positive square root is equal to 7.28, and the negative square root is -7.28.


Is the square root of any real number always positive?

The square root of a real number is not always positive. The square root of any positive number is positive, the square root of zero is zero (not positive), and the square root of a negative number is complex (i.e. neither positive nor negative). The square root of 16 = -4 or 4. The square root of 0 = 0 The square root of -16 = -4i or 4i


What is the nonenegative square root of a number?

Every number has two square roots ... a positive one and a negative one. Example: +2 and -2 are both square roots of 4, because when you multiply either of them by itself, the answer is 4. The positive square root of a number is the square root that's not negative. The non-negative square root of a number is the positive one.


What is a number that is a square root of a negative number?

I think it is Xi (whatever the square root of the positive is times i). i is an imaginary number that when you square it, it becomes negative. eg. the square root of -4 is 2i. Without "i", it would be impossible to square root a negative number, as any number times itself will always equal a positive.


What are the two square roots of 256?

A positive number has two square roots, its principal (positive) root and its negative root. This is because a negative number multiplied by a negative number equals a positive number. In this instance, the square roots of 256 are 16 and -16.


Why cant you evaluate the square root of negative twenty five using real numbers?

using basic math principles, you can't find the square root of a negative number because in order for a number to be a square root, you have to multiply it by itself to get your radical. since a negative times a negative and a positive times a positive are both positive, it is impossible to find the square root of a negative number


What is the nonnegative square root of a number?

Definition of Square Root: The Square Root of a number 'X' is equal to 'A' when X=A*A By definition, the square root of a positive number has two answers, one negative and one positive, that have equal magnitudes. i.e. The square roots of 4 are 2 and -2. The Non-Negative Square Root is simply asking for the positive root.


Why is there no solution to the square root of -169?

The answer is an imaginary number, because of the negative under the square root. The same number multiplied together will always be a positive number. For example, if you square negative one, the answer is positive one, because a negative times a negative is a positive. Because a square root undoes a square, there is no solution to the square root of a negative number. That's why your calculator could not compute this problem. However, there is a way to solve these types of problems by using imaginary numbers. The answer is 13i, where i is the square root of negative one.


How many square roots can a positive number have?

Every positive number has two square roots, though the roots are not always whole numbers (or even rational numbers). The more obvious of each numbers roots is the positive one.The positive square root of 4 is 2, because 2*2=4.The positive square root of 5 is roughly 2.236068.The other square root of a number is the negative inverse of their positive root. This is because when two negative numbers are multiplied together the negative signs "cancel out", leaving a positive number.The negative square root of 4 is -2, because -2*-2=4.The negative square root of 5 is roughly -2.236068.Zero has only one square root, itself, and no negative number has any (real number) square roots, since no number multiplied by itself will result in a negative.


What is the square root of a negative number plus the square root of a negative number?

Nothing. You cannot have a square root of a negative number. The square root of negative one is called i, but i is an imaginary number. It does not exist and does not follow the properties of real numbers. (For example, if a and b are positive, then the square root of a times the square root of b is the square root of ab. But the square root of -7 is not the square root of 7 times i.)


All positive numbers have two square root a positive and a negative why?

The product of two negative numbers is a positive number. Ergo, the product of the square of a number is equal to the square of its negative equivalent.


Why is square root of the number -9 not a real number?

For the same reason that the square root of ANY negative number is not a real number.Real numbers are positive, negative, or zero. * The square of a positive number is a positive number. * The square of a negative number is a positive number. * The square of zero is zero. In other words, in no case will you get a REAL number whose square is a negative number. The square roots of negative numbers are said to be "imaginary" - a name given for historical reasons. They are just as "real" or "unreal" as the so-called real numbers, but the point is that they are a different kind of numbers.