AXE method
The axe method is a way to solve math problems that involve finding the square root of a number.
Imagine you have a big tree trunk and you want to cut it into smaller pieces. You have an axe, but the problem is figuring out where to hit the trunk with it, so that you divide it evenly into smaller pieces. This is kind of like finding the square root of a number.
To use the axe method, you start by drawing a big square. Inside the square, you draw an X from corner to corner. The X splits the square into four smaller triangles.
Now, you write the number you want to find the square root of, in the top left corner of the square. In the next square to the right, you write the biggest number that you can multiply by itself and still get a number that is less than or equal to the first number. For example, if you want to find the square root of 25, you would write 25 in the top left corner, and then 5 in the square to the right.
Next, you draw a line from the top left corner of the square, down to the bottom of the square, passing through the top right corner of the square. This line divides the square into two rectangles.
Now the fun part! You imagine that the line you just drew is the handle of your axe, and you swing it down, chopping the top right corner of the square off. This creates a smaller square and two rectangles.
In the smaller square, you write the number that is left over after you subtract the square of the number in the square to the right, from the top left number. So, in the example of finding the square root of 25, you would subtract 5 squared (which is 25) from 25, to get 0.
In the rectangle to the right, you write the same number that you wrote in the square to the right, but doubling it. In our example, you would write 10.
Now, you repeat this process with the smaller square that you just created. Keep repeating until you end up with a rectangle and a small square with 0 in it.
Once you have gone through all the squares, you add up all the numbers that you wrote in the square to the right of the rectangles. In our example, we had 5, 10, and 0, so we would add 5 + 10 + 0, to get 15.
That's it! The number that you end up with is the square root of the number you started with. So, the square root of 25 is 5.
Imagine you have a big tree trunk and you want to cut it into smaller pieces. You have an axe, but the problem is figuring out where to hit the trunk with it, so that you divide it evenly into smaller pieces. This is kind of like finding the square root of a number.
To use the axe method, you start by drawing a big square. Inside the square, you draw an X from corner to corner. The X splits the square into four smaller triangles.
Now, you write the number you want to find the square root of, in the top left corner of the square. In the next square to the right, you write the biggest number that you can multiply by itself and still get a number that is less than or equal to the first number. For example, if you want to find the square root of 25, you would write 25 in the top left corner, and then 5 in the square to the right.
Next, you draw a line from the top left corner of the square, down to the bottom of the square, passing through the top right corner of the square. This line divides the square into two rectangles.
Now the fun part! You imagine that the line you just drew is the handle of your axe, and you swing it down, chopping the top right corner of the square off. This creates a smaller square and two rectangles.
In the smaller square, you write the number that is left over after you subtract the square of the number in the square to the right, from the top left number. So, in the example of finding the square root of 25, you would subtract 5 squared (which is 25) from 25, to get 0.
In the rectangle to the right, you write the same number that you wrote in the square to the right, but doubling it. In our example, you would write 10.
Now, you repeat this process with the smaller square that you just created. Keep repeating until you end up with a rectangle and a small square with 0 in it.
Once you have gone through all the squares, you add up all the numbers that you wrote in the square to the right of the rectangles. In our example, we had 5, 10, and 0, so we would add 5 + 10 + 0, to get 15.
That's it! The number that you end up with is the square root of the number you started with. So, the square root of 25 is 5.