root

root, in mathematics, a solution to an equation, usually expressed as a number or an algebraic formula.

In the 9th century, Arab writers usually called one of the equal factors of a number jadhr (“root”), and their medieval European translators used the Latin word radix (from which derives the adjective radical). If a is a positive real number and n a positive integer, there exists a unique positive real number x such that xⁿ = a. This number—the (principal) nth root of a—is written ⁿSquare root of√ a or a^1/n. The integer n is called the index of the root. For n = 2, the root is called the square root and is written Square root of√ a . The root ³Square root of√ a is called the cube root of a. If a is negative and n is odd, the unique negative nth root of a is termed principal. For example, the principal cube root of –27 is –3.

If a whole number (positive integer) has a rational nth root—i.e., one that can be written as a common fraction—then this root must be an integer. Thus, 5 has no rational square root because 2² is less than 5 and 3² is greater than 5. Exactly n complex numbers satisfy the equation xⁿ = 1, and they are called the complex nth roots of unity. If a regular polygon of n sides is inscribed in a unit circle centred at the origin so that one vertex lies on the positive half of the x-axis, the radii to the vertices are the vectors representing the n complex nth roots of unity. If the root whose vector makes the smallest positive angle with the positive direction of the x-axis is denoted by the Greek letter omega, ω, then ω, ω², ω³, …, ω_ⁿ = 1 constitute all the nth roots of unity. For example, ω = −1/2 + Square root of√ −3 /2, ω² = −1/2 − Square root of√ −3 /2, and ω³ = 1 are all the cube roots of unity. Any root, symbolized by the Greek letter epsilon, ε, that has the property that ε, ε², …, εⁿ = 1 give all the nth roots of unity is called primitive. Evidently the problem of finding the nth roots of unity is equivalent to the problem of inscribing a regular polygon of n sides in a circle. For every integer n, the nth roots of unity can be determined in terms of the rational numbers by means of rational operations and radicals; but they can be constructed by ruler and compasses (i.e., determined in terms of the ordinary operations of arithmetic and square roots) only if n is a product of distinct prime numbers of the form 2^h + 1, or 2^k times such a product, or is of the form 2^k. If a is a complex number not 0, the equation xⁿ = a has exactly n roots, and all the nth roots of a are the products of any one of these roots by the nth roots of unity.

Britannica Quiz

Numbers and Mathematics

The term root has been carried over from the equation xⁿ = a to all polynomial equations. Thus, a solution of the equation f(x) = a₀xⁿ + a₁x^n − 1 + … + a_n − 1x + a_n = 0, with a₀ ≠ 0, is called a root of the equation. If the coefficients lie in the complex field, an equation of the nth degree has exactly n (not necessarily distinct) complex roots. If the coefficients are real and n is odd, there is a real root. But an equation does not always have a root in its coefficient field. Thus, x² − 5 = 0 has no rational root, although its coefficients (1 and –5) are rational numbers.

More generally, the term root may be applied to any number that satisfies any given equation, whether a polynomial equation or not. Thus π is a root of the equation x sin (x) = 0.