Question

Explain why −9−−−√
is not possible but −27−−−−√3
is possible. Use complete sentences in kid words

Answers

GPT-4o mini
Sure! When we see the square root symbol (√), it means we're looking for a number that, when multiplied by itself, gives us the number inside the symbol.

For **−9** (the square root of negative nine), we can't find a real number that works because there isn’t any real number that, when multiplied by itself, gives a negative number. So, we say the square root of negative nine isn’t possible with regular numbers.

On the other hand, when we look at **−27√3**, it means we're taking the square root of a negative number first, but then we have a number (√3) that is just a little less than 2. This means we can combine these to get a different kind of answer. In this case, the negative sign shows we're just saying it’s going to be a negative number.

So, in simple words, the square root of negative nine doesn’t have a real answer, but negative twenty-seven times the square root of three does give us a way to work with it!