Final answer:
The square root of 26 is closest to 5 of the given options, because 26 is just above 25, and the square root of 25 is 5, making option d) (√26) the closest number.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student has asked which of the following numbers is closest: 5, the square root of 23, the square root of 22, the square root of 26, or the square root of 28. To find the closest number to 5 among the given square roots, we need to consider the approximate values of the square roots. We know that:
- The square root of 4 is 2, and the square root of 25 is 5.
- The square root of 22 and square root of 23 are between the square root of 16 (which is 4) and the square root of 25 (which is 5).
- The square root of 26 and square root of 28 are between the square root of 25 (which is 5) and the square root of 36 (which is 6).
Since 22 and 23 are closer to 16 than to 25, their square roots will be closer to 4 than to 5. On the other hand, 26 and 28 are closer to 25, so their square roots will be slightly above 5. We can conclude that among the given options, the square root of 26 is closest to the value of 5.
In order to determine which specific option is the closest, we would typically use a calculator or approximation methods. But based on the information provided, we can deduct that the square root of 26 is just above 5 since 26 is just above 25, and therefore option d) (√26) is the closest number to 5.