i am doing problems for chemistry class, and some of them are Calculating square root/ Cube Root but some are 4 and 5 instead of 2 or 3. if in a problem the exponent is 4 or 5 how would i use my calculator to calculate the root?

Question

i am doing problems for chemistry class, and some of them are Calculating square root/ Cube Root but some are 4 and 5 instead of 2 or 3. if in a problem the exponent is 4 or 5 how would i use my calculator to calculate the root?

Answer 1

If it's 4th root, just take the square root twice. If the fifth root you can do it one of two ways but the easy way is to enter the number, punch y^x key (I'm sure your calculator has one), punch in 0.20 and the equal sign. For example, 5th root 32 = (32)^1/5 = (32)^0.2 = 2.0. For that matter, that's probably the easy way to take 4th root, too. Enter the number, hit the y^x key, and enter 0.25 and the = key.

4th root 81 = (81)^1/4 = (81)^0.25 = 3.0.

Answer 2

thanks! that helped me solve the problems.

Answer 3

To calculate the square root (root with an exponent of 2) or cube root (root with an exponent of 3) using a calculator, you can typically use the built-in functions. However, for roots with exponents of 4 or 5, most calculators do not have specific buttons for these roots. In these cases, you can still find the roots by using the power or exponentiation functions of your calculator.

Here's how you can find the fourth root (root with an exponent of 4) or fifth root (root with an exponent of 5) using a scientific calculator:

1. Start by entering the number you want to find the root of.
2. For finding the fourth root: Raise the number to the power of 1/4. (e.g., if you want to find the fourth root of 256, enter 256^(1/4)).
For finding the fifth root: Raise the number to the power of 1/5. (e.g., if you want to find the fifth root of 625, enter 625^(1/5)).
3. Use the appropriate keys or buttons on your calculator to input the exponent.
4. Press the equals (=) button to get the result.
5. The calculated value will be the fourth root or fifth root of the original number.

Remember to follow the order of operations (BIDMAS or PEMDAS) if you have additional calculations within the parentheses or brackets.

Always double-check your answer and use parentheses if necessary to avoid errors due to operator precedence.

Note: If your calculator has a general nth root function, you can use it directly by entering "root(n, x)" (e.g., root(4, 256) for the fourth root of 256). However, not all calculators provide this option.