SQRT

Microsoft Office Excel 2003

See Also

Returns a positive square root.

Syntax

SQRT(number)

Number    is the number for which you want the square root.

Remark

If number is negative, SQRT returns the #NUM! error value.

Example

The example may be easier to understand if you copy it to a blank worksheet.

Show How?

  1. Create a blank workbook or worksheet.
  2. Select the example in the Help topic. Do not select the row or column headers.

    Selecting an example from Help

    Selecting an example from Help

  3. Press CTRL+C.
  4. In the worksheet, select cell A1, and press CTRL+V.
  5. To switch between viewing the results and viewing the formulas that return the results, press CTRL+` (grave accent), or on the Tools menu, point to Formula Auditing, and then click Formula Auditing Mode.
 
1
2
A
Data
-16
Formula Description (Result)
=SQRT(16) Square root of 16 (4)
=SQRT(A2) Square root of the number above. Because the number is negative, an error is returned (#NUM!)
=SQRT(ABS(A2)) Square root of the absolute value of the number above (4)