You can calculate the square root in Python IDLE using the math.sqrt()
function from the math
module.
Here's how:
-
Import the
math
module: Before you can usemath.sqrt()
, you need to import themath
module into your Python IDLE session. You do this by typingimport math
and pressing Enter. -
Use the
math.sqrt()
function: To calculate the square root of a number, pass it as an argument to themath.sqrt()
function. For example, to find the square root of 25, you would typemath.sqrt(25)
and press Enter. The result,5.0
, will be displayed.
Here's a complete example in Python IDLE:
>>> import math
>>> math.sqrt(25)
5.0
>>> math.sqrt(2)
1.4142135623730951
Explanation:
import math
: This line imports themath
module, making its functions available.math.sqrt(25)
: This calls thesqrt()
function from themath
module with the argument25
. The function returns the square root of 25, which is 5.0. Note that the result is a float (a number with a decimal point).math.sqrt(2)
: This shows how to calculate the square root of another number, in this case, 2.
Alternatives (less common):
While math.sqrt()
is the most straightforward and recommended method, you can also calculate square roots using the power operator (**
). To find the square root of a number x
, you can raise it to the power of 0.5: x**0.5
. However, using math.sqrt()
is generally preferred for readability and because it is specifically designed for square root calculations.
>>> 25**0.5
5.0
Summary:
To calculate the square root in Python IDLE, import the math
module and use the math.sqrt()
function. This is the most common and readable way to achieve this.