Q:

Use the Babylonian method to estimate √80 to the nearest hundredth.

Accepted Solution

A:
The answer is 8.94.

Most people guess that a square root is half, so we will make that our first guess; 80/2 = 40, so 40 is our guess.
80/40 = 2
Average 40 & 2:Β  (40+2)/2 = 21; this is our new guess.

80/21 = 3.80952381
Average 21 & 3.80952381: 12.40476191 is our new guess

80/12.40476191 = 6.449136274
Average 12.40476191 & 6.449136274:Β  9.426949092 is our new guess

80/9.426949092 = 8.48630869
Average 9.426949092 & 8.48630869 = 8.956628891 is our new guess

80/8.956628891 = 8.931931977
Average 8.956628891 & 8.931931977:Β  8.944280434 is our new guess

80/8.944280434 = 8.944280434
Average 8.944280434 & 8.944280434 = 8.944263386

By this point, we have the same number to the hundredths place, so we stop.Β  Our estimate is 8.94.