What is the square root of 17?

The square root of 17 is approximately 4.12. Since 17 is a prime number, it cannot be rewritten in simplified radical form. The square root of 17 can be found by using the radical sign function on both scientific and graphing calculators.

The square root of a number, b, is the number, a, which when multiplied by itself equals b. This is exemplified in the equation a * a = b or √ = a. To write a square root function in simple form, the square of a whole number should be factored out. For example, the square root of 24 is the square root of four times the square root of 6. The equation is simplified by writing two times the square root of six.