How Do You Find The Exact Value Of Square Root of 3, 5, 7, 11?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around methods to find the exact values of square roots for various integers, particularly those that are not perfect squares, such as 3, 5, 7, and 11. Participants explore the nature of these square roots, their irrationality, and alternative representations.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant inquires about methods to find the exact values of square roots for several integers, including 3, 5, 7, and 11.
  • Another participant notes that while arithmetic algorithms can approximate these square roots, they are irrational and have non-repeating, non-terminating decimal representations.
  • A different participant states that the exact values of square roots for integers that are not perfect squares can only be expressed in radical form, such as \(\sqrt{2}, \sqrt{3}, \sqrt{5}, \sqrt{7}, \sqrt{11}\), and emphasizes their irrational nature.
  • One participant suggests expanding the list of integers to include others like 6, 8, and 10, pointing out that none of these have rational square roots.
  • Another participant proposes that if one accepts infinite expressions, the square root of 2 can be represented as an infinite continued fraction, highlighting its regularity compared to decimal expansions.
  • A later reply reiterates the idea of representing the square root of 2 as an infinite continued fraction, noting its straightforward pattern compared to the unpredictability of its decimal expansion.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that the square roots of non-perfect squares are irrational and cannot be expressed as terminating or repeating decimals. However, there are differing views on the methods of representation, particularly regarding the use of continued fractions.

Contextual Notes

The discussion does not resolve the limitations of the methods proposed or the assumptions regarding the acceptance of infinite expressions versus decimal representations.

mymachine
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Is there any method to find the exact value of the square root of 3,5,7,11,13,14,15,17,18, etc.?

Thank you
 
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Arithmetic algorithms can approximate these square roots, but because they are all irrational, the decimal representations are non-repeating and non-terminating.
 
The exact values of the square root of 2, 3, 5 ,7, 11, etc are \sqrt{2}, \sqrt{3}, \sqrt{5}, \sqrt{7}, \sqrt{11}. That's the best you can do. As SteamKing said, all of those, and, in fact, the square root of any integer that is not a "perfect square", are irrational- they cannot be written as a terminating decimal, they cannot be written as a repeating decimal like "0.14141414...", and cannot be written as a fraction (integer over integer).

(I added "2" to the beginning of your list. I am surprized you did not have it.)
 
Might as well add 6, 8, 10, and so on to the list, since none of these is a perfect square, and consequently does not have a square root that is rational.
 
If instead of a infinite decimal expansion you would accept some other infinite expression then you can express the square root of 2 as an infinite continued fraction.
 
lavinia said:
If instead of a infinite decimal expansion you would accept some other infinite expression then you can express the square root of 2 as an infinite continued fraction.

The infinite fraction representation is a really nice one because it exhibits a lot of regularity. In the decimal expansion of ##\sqrt{2}##, there is no way to know which decimal comes next. But the infinite fraction is very straightforward and exhibits a nice pattern.
 

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