Final answer:
To find the missing base '?', we take the square root of both sides of the equation '?^2= 49', giving us ? = 7. Therefore, the missing base is the whole number 7.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question requires finding the missing base of the equation '?^2= 49'. To solve for the missing base, we need to find a number that, when squared, equals 49. The operation to undo a square is taking the square root. Thus, we take the square root of both sides of the equation:
√(?^2) = √49
By doing that, the left side simplifies to '?', and the right side is the square root of 49, which is 7. So, we have:
? = 7
This means the missing base is 7, which is a whole number. The positive square root is taken because the question specifies writing the answer as a whole number and negative numbers are not usually considered 'whole numbers'.