So, how can you determine if a number is a perfect square? The trick lies in finding its square root, which is the reverse operation of squaring a number. If the square root yields a whole number, you’re looking at a perfect square.
For instance, the square root of 16 is 4 because 4 x 4 = 16. Therefore, 16 is indeed a perfect square. Likewise, if you calculate the square root of 144, you’ll find it’s 12 because 12 x 12 = 144. Bingo! Another perfect square.
Perfect Squares Chart
To help you get a better grasp of perfect squares, here are a few more common examples:
- 1 x 1 = 1
- 2 x 2 = 4
- 3 x 3 = 9
- 4 x 4 = 16
- 5 x 5 = 25
- 6 x 6 = 36
- 7 x 7 = 49
- 8 x 8 = 64
- 9 x 9 = 81
- 10 x 10 = 100
As you can see, each of these numbers can be expressed as the product of two equal integers, making them perfect squares.