Ask a TI-84 Evo for √50 and it answers 7.071067812, a decimal. Math class usually wants the exact form, 5√2. This free program does that conversion right on the calculator: type any whole number and it prints the simplified radical.
Send it to your calculator
Plug the calculator into your computer with a USB cable, then use the button below. It takes a few seconds, and there's no code to type in.
Checking your browser…
Something not working? See troubleshooting.
Open it on the calculator
Prefer to watch? The whole thing takes about a minute:
Press the prgm key. It sits in the middle of the keyboard, two rows below the arrow keys.
The PROGRAMMING menu opens with TI-Basic already highlighted. Press enter.
RADICAL is in the program list. Press enter to pick it, which puts prgmRADICAL on the home screen.
Simplify a radical
Press enter to run it. The program prints a square root sign and waits for a number.
Type the number and press enter. 12 comes back as 2√3, the exact simplified form, and the program ends on its own. Nothing to escape out of.
For the next number, just press enter. The calculator reruns whatever it did last, so the square root prompt comes right back.
Good to know
- Perfect squares come back as plain numbers. 36 prints = 6, and √144 gives 12. If a number has no square factor to pull out, like 7, it says "Already simplified" instead of leaving you guessing.
- Whole numbers only. Decimals and negatives get a reminder instead of an error screen.
- A calculator reset removes it. TI-Basic programs live in RAM, so if the program disappears after a reset, just send it again from this page.
