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Lesson 53 of 104 2 min Updated Completed

How to Calculate a Square Root in Excel

There are two ways to find a square root in Excel: the caret symbol (^) in a formula, or the SQRT function. The caret also works for cube roots and any other root.

Example 1: square root with ^

  1. Select cell E3.

  2. Type =D3^(1/2) and press Enter.

    Square root with the formula =D3^(1/2)

The caret means “to the power of” (type it with Shift + 6). Raising a number to the power ½ gives its square root.

Note: The brackets around 1/2 are required. Without them, Excel calculates D3^1 first and then divides by 2.

Example 2: cube root

  1. Select cell E3.

  2. Type =D3^(1/3) and press Enter.

    Cube root with the formula =D3^(1/3)

For any other root, change the bottom number: ^(1/4) is the fourth root, and so on.

Example 3: the SQRT function

  1. Select cell F3.

  2. Type =SQRT(D3) and press Enter.

    The SQRT function in F3

Note: SQRT of a negative number returns the #NUM! error. Use =SQRT(ABS(D3)) if you only care about the size of the number.