Square Calculator

Enter any number and this tool squares it whole numbers, decimals, negatives, even scientific E notation. Try our other claculators Percentage Decrease Calculator, radicals and roots calculator or Quadratic Formula Calculator.

Enter a Number to Square

n² = ?
Squaring a negative number? Use parentheses — see the note below on why that matters.

Numbers 0 Through 10, Squared

0² = 0
1² = 1
2² = 4
3² = 9
4² = 16
5² = 25
6² = 36
7² = 49
8² = 64
9² = 81
10² = 100

Result

Solution:

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Enter a number and hit Calculate to see it squared here.

How to Use This Calculator

  1. Type a number into the box whole numbers, decimals, and scientific notation like 1.5e3 all work.
  2. Squaring a negative number on its own, like -5? Wrap it in parentheses as (-5), otherwise the calculator reads it the standard math way (explained below).
  3. Click Calculate to see the squared result along with the full multiplication.
  4. Copy the answer as text or print a clean version with the buttons next to the result.

Practical Example / Formula Used

Squaring a number just means multiplying it by itself:

n² = n × n

So for n = 8, that's 8² = 8 × 8 = 64. Simple enough with a positive number.

Negative numbers are where it gets a little trickier, and it's genuinely ambiguous notation, not just a quirk of this calculator. Written without parentheses, a negative sign in front of a squared term usually applies after the squaring, not before it. That's standard order-of-operations: exponents happen before the negation is applied. So:

  • -5² is read as -(5 × 5) = -25
  • -(5)² works the same way: -(5 × 5) = -25
  • (-5)² is different — the parentheses make the -5 itself the thing being squared: (-5) × (-5) = 25

Type your number the way you actually mean it, parentheses and all, and this calculator will follow that same convention.

Why Use This Calculator?

  • It resolves the negative-sign ambiguity properly instead of guessing, so you get the answer you actually typed.
  • Decimals and scientific notation both work, not just clean whole numbers.
  • The solution line shows the actual multiplication, which is handy if you're double-checking homework.
  • Share links mean you can send an exact calculation to someone else with one click.

Key Factors / Variables Explained

n - the number you're squaring. Can be positive, negative, a decimal, or written in scientific E notation.

Perfect square - if n is a whole number, n² is called a perfect square. 9, 16, and 25 are all examples since they're 3², 4², and 5².

Parentheses - the deciding factor for negative inputs. Wrapping the whole signed number in parentheses, like (-5), means that entire value gets squared. Leaving them off means the square happens first and the minus sign applies to the result.

Frequently Asked Questions

Written as -5² with no parentheses, it's -25, because exponents apply before the negative sign under standard order of operations. If you actually want to square a negative five, write it as (-5)², which comes out to 25.

Not for a real number squared on its own any real number times itself lands at zero or higher. A negative result only shows up when a minus sign sits outside the squaring, like -5² = -25.

It's what you get when you square a whole number. 1, 4, 9, 16, and 25 are the first few perfect squares, coming from 1² through 5².

Yes. Enter something like 2.5 and it'll square it the same way as a whole number: 2.5 × 2.5 = 6.25.

They undo each other. Squaring multiplies a number by itself (5² = 25), while a square root asks what number, multiplied by itself, gets you back to the original (√25 = 5). Our square root calculator handles that direction.

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