Solve for a. Express your answer in simplest radical form if necessary.

a^2 = 26

1 answer

To solve the equation \( a^2 = 26 \), we take the square root of both sides. This gives us:

\[ a = \pm \sqrt{26} \]

Thus, the solutions for \( a \) are:

\[ a = \sqrt{26} \quad \text{and} \quad a = -\sqrt{26} \]

The answer in simplest radical form is:

\[ a = \pm \sqrt{26} \]