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Zero is the square of only one number, itself. For this reason, it is possible to define the square root function, which associates with a non-negative real number the non-negative number whose square is the original number. No square root can be taken of a negative number within the system of real numbers, because squares of all real numbers ...
A non-negative integer is a square number when its square root is again an integer. For example, =, so 9 is a square number. A positive integer that has no square divisors except 1 is called square-free. For a non-negative integer n, the n th square number is n 2, with 0 2 = 0 being the zeroth one. The concept of square can be extended to some ...
In mathematics, a negative number is the opposite of a positive real number. [1] Equivalently, a negative number is a real number that is less than zero. Negative numbers are often used to represent the magnitude of a loss or deficiency. A debt that is owed may be thought of as a negative asset.
Negative numbers: Real numbers that are less than zero. Because zero itself has no sign, neither the positive numbers nor the negative numbers include zero. When zero is a possibility, the following terms are often used: Non-negative numbers: Real numbers that are greater than or equal to zero. Thus a non-negative number is either zero or positive.
The square root is multivalued. One value can be chosen by convention as the principal value ; in the case of the square root the non-negative value is the principal value, but there is no guarantee that the square root given as the principal value of the square of a number will be equal to the original number (e.g. the principal square root of ...
A square root of a number x is a number r which, when squared, becomes x: =. Every positive real number has two square roots, one positive and one negative. For example, the two square roots of 25 are 5 and −5. The positive square root is also known as the principal square root, and is denoted with a radical sign:
The square of any positive or negative number is positive, and the square of 0 is 0. Therefore, no negative number can have a real square root. However, it is possible to work with a more inclusive set of numbers, called the complex numbers , that does contain solutions to the square root of a negative number.
This led to expressions involving the square roots of negative numbers, and eventually to the definition of a new number: a square root of −1, denoted by i, a symbol assigned by Leonhard Euler, and called the imaginary unit. The complex numbers consist of all numbers of the form + where a and b are real numbers.