Question

Explain why the square root of a number is defined to be equal to that number to the 1/2 power.

Answer 1

multiply it by 1 half

Answer 2

Sample Response: Squaring and square root are inverses, so one should "undo" the other. That is, squaring the square root of a number results in the number. Using the power of a power rule, you multiply the exponents. Since a number to the first power is itself, the product of the exponents must equal 1. This means that the power of the square root must be the reciprocal of 2, or one half.