Take the square root, or any root, of a number.
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=SQRT(A2)SQRT returns the square root. For any other root, raise to a fractional power: A2^(1/3) is the cube root. The caret (^) operator handles powers and roots alike.
=A2^(1/3)→4Cube root of 64 is 4.
=SQRT(144)→12The square root of 144 is 12.
=POWER(81, 1/4)→3Fourth root of 81, using POWER instead of the ^ operator.
Raise to a power
=A2^2Squares the value; POWER(A2,2) is equivalent.
You can't take the square root of a negative number. Wrap with ABS if the sign doesn't matter: =SQRT(ABS(A2)).
Raise the number to the power of 1/3: =A2^(1/3). Excel has no dedicated cube-root function.
SQRT only returns the square root. POWER(number, 1/n) or number^(1/n) returns any root, so use it for cube roots and higher.
Hold Alt and type 251 on the numeric keypad (Windows), or use Insert ▸ Symbol. The symbol is only text — it does not calculate anything.
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