Question

When is it plus or minus square root?

A) When the value inside the square root is negative
B) When the value inside the square root is positive
C) It is always plus square root
D) It is always minus square root

Answer 1

The square root sign conventionally refers to the positive square root only, but when solving equations with squared variables, there are typically both positive and negative roots.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question 'When is it plus or minus square root?' relates to the situations in mathematics when solving equations that involve square roots. By convention, a square root sign refers to the positive (principal) square root only. This is why you often see it as a positive value, also known as the principal square root.

However, when you solve an equation that involves squaring on both sides, there exists a positive and a negative root, usually represented as ± (plus or minus). For example, if the equation is x2 = 9, the solutions are x = 3 and x = -3 because both (3)2 and (-3)2 equal 9.