5 Ways to Calculate the Square of a Number in Google Sheets

Do you need to calculate the square of a number for financial, statistical, or engineering purposes? Well, you’re in luck! Google Sheets offers a variety of calculation functions, including calculating squares!

In this article, I’ll show you 5 simple ways to calculate the square of a number in Google Sheets.

Method 1: Multiplying the Value by Itself

Calculating the square of a number simply means multiplying the number by itself. Luckily, Google Sheets makes this operation even easier with built-in functions and formulas.

To calculate the square of a number using multiplication, follow these steps:

1. Select the cell where you want to display the square result. Let’s use cell C3 as an example.
2. Start your formula with an equals sign (=) as all calculations in Google Sheets begin with an equals sign.
3. Click on the cell containing the number you want to square (B3 in this example) to reference it in the formula.
4. Type an asterisk (*) to indicate multiplication.
5. Click on the same cell (B3) again to reference it after the multiplication operator.
6. Press Enter to accept and evaluate the formula.

Now you can copy and paste this formula to calculate the square of all the numbers in column B.

Method 2: Using the Caret Operator (^)

Google Sheets has a special operator that allows you to raise a number to any power. You can use this operator to calculate the square of a number.

The caret operator (^) is the key to this method. It is usually found on the numeric keypad and can be accessed by pressing Shift + 6 on your keyboard.

To calculate the square using the caret operator, follow these steps:

1. Select the cell where you want the square result to be displayed (C3 in this example).
2. Start your formula with an equals sign (=).
3. Click on the cell containing the number you want to square (B3) to add it to the formula.
4. Type the caret operator (^) by pressing Shift + 6 on your keyboard.
5. Type 2 after the caret symbol to indicate that you want to raise the number to the power of 2 (for the square).
6. Press Enter to evaluate the formula.

You can then copy and paste this formula to calculate the square of other values in column B.

Please note that the caret operator is particularly useful when dealing with higher powers, such as cubes or the power of 4.

Method 3: Using the POWER Function

In addition to the previous methods, Google Sheets also has a dedicated function for calculating any power, including the power of two or the square. This function is called POWER.

The syntax for the POWER function is as follows:
= POWER(Value, Exponent)

• Value is the number you want to raise to a given power.
• Exponent is the power to which you want to raise the value.

For example, to calculate the square of a number using the POWER function, follow these steps:

1. Select the cell where you want the square result to be displayed (C3).
2. Start your formula with an equals sign (=).
3. Type POWER( to begin the function.
4. Click on the cell containing the number you want to square (B3) to reference it in the formula.
5. Type a comma (,) to move to the next argument of the function.
6. Type 2 as the value for the next argument.
7. Type a closing parenthesis ) to end the formula and press Enter.

You can copy and paste this formula to calculate the square of the remaining values in column B.

Note: When typing the POWER function, you can save time by entering “PO” and pressing the Tab key. This will automatically complete the function name and add the opening parenthesis for you.

Method 4: Using the SUMSQ Function

The SUMSQ function is typically used to square numbers and then add them together. While summing may not seem useful for calculating the square of a number, you can actually use it on a single cell to return the square result!

The syntax for the SUMSQ function is as follows:
= SUMSQ(Range1, [Range2], ...)

• Range1 is the range of values to be squared and then added together.
• Range2 is an optional additional input to be squared and added.

For example, to calculate the square of a number using the SUMSQ function, follow these steps:

1. Select the cell where you want the square result to be displayed (C3).
2. Start your formula with an equals sign (=).
3. Type SUMSQ( to begin the function.
4. Click on the cell containing the number you want to square (B3) to reference it in the formula.
5. Type a closing parenthesis ) to end the formula and press Enter.

The formula above will take the value in cell B3 and return its square. Since the function has only one cell as its argument, the sum of that cell is simply the squared value.

Note: The SUMSQ function is actually easier to use than the POWER function since you only need one input value, and you don’t need to explicitly define the exponent as 2.

Method 5: Using the SERIESSUM Function

The SERIESSUM function is another function similar to SUMSQ, but it’s a more generalized version and allows you to find the sum of any mathematical series.

The syntax for the SERIESSUM function is as follows:
= SERIESSUM(X, Start, Step, Coefficients)

• X – The input series.
• Start – The starting initial power of X in the series.
• Step – The additive increment by which X should be increased.
• Coefficients – The array containing the coefficients of the series.

For example, to calculate the square of a number using the SERIESSUM function, follow these steps:

1. Start your formula with an equals sign (=).
2. Type SERIESSUM( to begin the function.
3. Click on the cell containing the number you want to square (B3).
4. Type a comma (,) to move to the next argument of the function.
5. Type 2 as the value for the next argument.
6. Type 0 as the value for the next argument.
7. Type 1 as the value for the last argument.
8. Type a closing parenthesis ) to end the formula and press Enter.

The formula above creates a series based on the value in cell B3.

• This series has an initial starting power of 2.
• The exponent increases by 0 at each step of the series.
• The series has a coefficient of 1. Since this coefficient is a single value and not an array, the series only has one step.

The resulting series is identical to the square of B3.

Conclusion

Google Sheets offers 5 easy ways to calculate the square of any number.

• Two methods use operators, and one method uses a function.
• The multiplication operator allows you to multiply a value by itself to get the square, and the caret operator allows you to raise any number to a power or exponent. These are two simple ways to calculate the square of a number!
• The POWER function has the same functionality as the caret operator but has the added advantage of providing helpful text guidance when used.
• The SUMSQ and SERIESSUM functions are intended for summing values that have been raised to given exponents, but they can also be used to calculate the square of a single number with the right parameters.

I hope this article has been helpful to you! If you have any questions about how these formulas work, feel free to ask in the comments below. And remember, for more valuable insights and tips, visit Crawlan.com. Cheers!