Basic Description of the SQRT Function in Microsoft Excel

The SQRT function in Microsoft Excel computes the positive square root of a given numeric value. The formula of the SQRTR function is:

=SQRT (number)

In this formula, the number argument is the number in which you want to calculate the square root of. This argument can be entered in the formula either as a cell reference which contains the numeric value, as value returned from other formulas or functions, or the numeric value itself.

However, you have to take note that if the given number carries a negative sign, you can get an error and the SQRT function will return the result which is #NUM!

Here are simple examples which you can try in your Excel spreadsheet, so you will know how the SQRT function works.

• Cell A1 contains a numeric value of 36. Then you can use this formula, =SQRT (36). The function will return the result which is 6.
• If you have a numeric value of 5.9 in cell A2, you can use this formula, =SQRT (A2). Remember that you can also use the cell reference instead of the actual numeric value. The function will then return the result which is 2.42899156.
• It also possible to use the SQRT functions with other Excel functions. For instance, you use it with the POWER function. As an example, you can enter this formula in any cell where you want the result to be displayed, =SQRT ( POWER (2.5, 2)). As you can remember still remember, the POWER function formula, “2.5” is the number that needs to be calculated raise to some power of “2”. Then SQRT function will subsequently return the result which is 2.5.

Common Errors in the SQRT Function

• #NUM!: This result is displayed if the given number carries a negative sign.
• #VALUE!: This result is displayed if the function is not able to interpret the entered argument as a numeric value.

Using the SQRT Function with the ROUND Function and Decimals

This Excel help article is straightforward, so you will be provided with examples immediately, and any Excel consultant should be able to pick this up quickly.

For instance, a numeric value of 6.23 is contained in cell A2. Then you can use this formula to determine the square root of the given number, =SQRT (C2). The function will return the result which is 2.50. The cell which contains the result was formatted so that the answer is displayed as a numeric value having 2 decimal places.

Now, use the SQRT function with the ROUND function. You can use the same example above. For instance, cell A3 contains a numeric value of 6.23. The you can type in this formula in any cell where you want the result to be displayed, =2*ROUND ( SQRT (A3), 2). As you can still remember in the ROUND function, the value “2” inside the parenthesis determines the number of decimal places in which the result will be rounded off. If the cell was not formatted to display the result with 2 decimal places, the answer that is returned by the SQRT function is 2.49599679486974. But with the use of the ROUND function specifying that the result will be rounded to 2 decimal places, the Excel function will return the result which is 2.50. Then it will be subsequently multiplied by 2, as you can see in the formula, giving the result which is 5.00.