Graphing Overview

Square Root Functions

A square root function is a function that contains a variable under the square root symbol . Square and square root are inverse operations, so there will be similarities in their graphs.

Square root functions have equations in the form: or in exponential notation as . Graphs of square root functions increase quickly at first then flatten to a very slow rate of change.

See the table and graph of a basic square root function below.

f(x) = ?x

Here are some situations that can be modeled by square root functions:

• Power factor and electrical load distribution (power vs. load).
• Collision detection for polygon shaped objects (direction vs. size).
• Fly ball behind the plate (distance vs. time).