Find the nearest perfect square on either side of the given value.
About - 12
Practice makes perfect
To estimate - sqrt(146) to the nearest integer, let's narrow down our estimate by looking at nearby perfect squares. The two perfect squares which are nearest to 146 are 144 and 169.
We know that sqrt(146) is somewhere between 12 and 13. In order to estimate it to the nearestwhole number, we have to know which perfect square is closer. We will do this by finding the difference between 144 and 146, and 146 and 169.
&144-2 ←146+23 →169
Because 144 is closer to 146, we know that sqrt(144) is closer to sqrt(146). Therefore, the nearest whole number to sqrt(146) is 12. This means that the nearest whole number to - sqrt(146) is - 12.
