Methods of computing square rootsMethods of computing square roots are numerical analysis algorithms for approximating the principal, or non-negative, square root (usually denoted , , or ) of a real number. Arithmetically, it means given , a procedure for finding a number which when multiplied by itself, yields ; algebraically, it means a procedure for finding the non-negative root of the equation ; geometrically, it means given two line segments, a procedure for constructing their geometric mean. Every real number except zero has two square roots.