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Looking to learn how to calculate the square root of a number in Go (Golang)? Whether you’re preparing for a coding interview, tackling semester exams, or simply improving your Go programming skills, mastering this small but essential task is a must!
“Knowing how to manually calculate the square root without relying on libraries is a great way to sharpen your algorithmic thinking and impress in interviews.”
In this article, we’ll walk you through how to write a Go program to find the square root of a number using a simple, easy-to-understand approach. We’ll also explain the concept of square roots clearly and show you a practical example you can start using right away.
What is the Square Root?
Before we dive into the coding part, let’s quickly brush up on the concept:
The square root of a number n is a value that, when multiplied by itself, equals n.
Mathematically, it’s written as: n\sqrt{n}n
For example, the square root of 16 is 4, because 4×4=164 \times 4 = 164×4=16.
GoLang Program to Find Square Root (Simple Example)
Now that you understand the concept, let’s see how you can find the square root in Golang using a custom function.
Here’s a full example:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 | package main import "fmt" func main() { var result float64 result = find_square(16) fmt.Println(result) } func find_square(number float64) float64 { var sr float64 = number / 2 var temp float64 for { temp = sr sr = (temp + (number / temp)) / 2 if (temp - sr) == 0 { break } } return sr } |
Output:
1 2 3 | 4 |
How This Code Works
- We start by guessing a value (
number/2) for the square root. - Then, using the Newton-Raphson method, we iteratively improve our guess.
- The loop continues until our guess doesn’t change anymore — meaning we found the square root!
This method is a great example of efficient numerical approximation in Go, and it’s a common technique asked in coding assessments.
Final Thoughts
Finding the square root in Golang is straightforward once you understand the logic behind it. You can also use Go’s built-in math.Sqrt() function for an even simpler solution — but learning how to build it manually helps deepen your understanding of algorithms and number theory.
If you liked this tutorial, don’t forget to check out more Go programming exercises and coding interview tips on our site!
“Challenge: Modify the function to calculate the cube root! Can you do it?”
