Find the nearest perfect square on either side of the given value.
About 8
Practice makes perfect
To estimate sqrt(61) to the nearest integer, let's narrow down our estimate by looking at nearby perfect squares. The two nearest perfect squares are 49 and 64.
We know that sqrt(61) is somewhere between 7 and 8. 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 49 and 61, and 61 and 64.
49-12 ←61+3 →64
Because 64 is closer to 61, we know that sqrt(64) is closer to sqrt(61). Therefore, the nearest whole number is 8.