Hello, Tanmay!

Negative numbers don't have square roots. A square is either positive or zero.

Hi Tanmay,

Taking the square root of a number yields two answers, both a positive and negative. Which root you use, the positive or negative, depends on the context of a problem. If the number represents a measurement, for example, you would only use the positive root, since the measurement can't be negative.

look up imaginary numbers. I, myself, didn't pay attention in class to the subject so expect no explanation. Think about it this way:  negative numbers can't have a square root; square roots are the product of similar quantities being multiplied together, and negatives can't multiply into negatives, just as positives cannot.

I think the original poster is asking about the result of taking the square root, not the number whose square root is being taken. Thus, Evan Lewis’ answer is a good one for this question.

Thanks to the others for your answers, too, in case this was what the original poster had in mind. And there is interesting stuff to learn from them!