Well, the easiest way is to note that √200 = √2 x √100 = 10√2. You can look up √2 in a book, and then just shift the decimal one place.
Alternatively, there is a procedure for computing the square root of a number with pencil and paper. It looks very much like old-fashioned "long division," but with some differences in the details.
- First, write the number you are finding the square root of, grouping the digits in pairs on either side of the decimal point. Thus, 200 becomes 2 00 . 00 00 00 00
- The first group of digits is just the number 2. Find the largest square that is less than that number. In this case, that's 1. The square root of 1 is also 1, and that is the first digit of the answer.
- Subtract the square from the previous step, leaving a remainder of 1, and bring down the next pair of digits, leaving you with 100.
- You now take the answer so far, double it, and put a blank next to it. In this case, that's 2_.
- Fill in the blank with the largest number that gives you a multiple 2_ * _ that is less than your working remainder. 21 * 1 = 21, 22 * 2 = 44, 23 * 3 = 69, 24 * 4 = 96, 25 * 5 = 125, so the largest multiple that fits our requirements is 24 * 4. Write the 4 as the next digit of the answer, and subtract 96 from the working remainder of 100, and bring down the next pair of digits.
- Repeat steps 4 and 5 until you reach the precision you require.
Here's what it looks like:
1 4 . 1 4 2 1 3 5 6 2 √ 2 00 . 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 1 * 1 = 1 - 1 1 00 24 * 4 = 96 - 96 4 00 281 * 1 = 281 - 2 81 1 19 00 2824 * 4 = 11296 - 1 12 96 6 04 00 28282 * 2 = 56564 - 5 65 64 38 36 00 282841 * 1 = 282841 - 28 28 41 10 07 59 00 2828423 * 3 = 8485269 - 8 48 52 69 1 59 06 31 00 28284265 * 5 = 141421325 - 1 41 42 13 25 17 64 17 75 00 282842706 * 6 = 1697056236 - 16 97 05 62 36 67 12 12 64 00 2828427122 * 2 = 5656854244 - 56 56 85 42 44 10 55 27 21 56