Math 10C Module 2 Lesson 2

Module 2: Roots and Powers

 

Lesson 2 Summary

 

In Lesson 2 you investigated the following questions:

  • How can you choose the best strategy for determining square roots and cube roots?
  • How are square roots and cube roots used to solve real-world problems?

In this lesson you learned how to find the square root and cube root of a number using several methods: manipulatives and diagrams, guess and check, prime factorization, and using a calculator. The strategy you choose to solve a particular problem will depend on a number of factors including the materials you have on hand, the size of the numbers in the problem, and your own preferences. If you have graph paper, for instance, you may opt to use diagrams to model the problem. On the other hand, this method may not be appropriate if the numbers in the problem are larger than the number of grid squares on the graph paper. In this case, prime factorization or the use of a calculator may be more suitable.

 

Square roots are most often seen in the solutions of area problems, while cube roots are used in the solution of volume problems. In this lesson you learned how to tell if a number is a perfect square or a perfect cube. In a subsequent lesson you will use this information to explore radicals.

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