How to Use the Square Root (SQRT) Function in Excel
Square Root is a common yet very useful mathematical function found in Excel. Here is a quick look at its usage and syntax.
Unlikefunctions like COUNTIF, SQRT is not a function unique to Excel. Finding square roots is a fundamental part of mathematics, so you will find a dedicated function for this in most number-crunching applications along with digital calculators.
What Is the SQRT Function and What Does It Do?
Excel hashundreds of functionsthat serve a variety of purposes. While some likeVLOOKUPperform more esoteric functions, simpler ones like AVERAGE carry out basic mathematical operations more conveniently.
The Square Root function (SQRT) belongs to the second category. It simply gives you the square root of the argument number. For dynamic calculations, this argument could be a cell reference as well
The syntax is:
=SQRT(number), where the number is a numerical value or cell reference.
Keep in mind that as Excel is a spreadsheet application meant for bookkeeping and similar tasks, it does not support imaginary numbers and cannot return square roots of negative numbers. Use the ABS function (Absolute) to make sure that any arguments fed into the SQRT function are always positive.
Using the SQRT Function in Excel
Is the SQRT Function Useful?
As with any Excel function, the SQRT function’s utility is very situational. It is certainly not as universally applicable asSUMor AVERAGE.
That being said, if you are performing any kind of data analysis on your spreadsheet, you will find yourself using the SQRT function frequently.
Levin Roy is a software engineer who loves writing about technology. Whether it is Windows tips-and-tricks or in-depth guides about application development, Levin uses his practical experience and technical skills to create articles that can help solve tricky problems.Read Levin’s Full Bio
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