Square Number — 3² = 9 — free printable diagram

What is 3 squared?

3 squared is 9. Squaring a number means multiplying it by itself, so 3² = 3 × 3 = 9. Read the other way round, the square root of 9 is 3.

Calculation

3² = 3 × 3

Answer

9

In words

nine

Square root

√9 = 3

Position

the 3rd square number

• Squaring means multiplying a number by itself, so 3² = 3 × 3 = 9.
• 9 is called a square number because 9 counters can be arranged in a perfect square of 3 rows with 3 in each row.
• The opposite of squaring is taking the square root, so √9 = 3.
• 3 squared is not 3 × 2. 3 × 2 = 6, but 3² = 9.
• Each square number is the odd numbers added up in order: 9 − 4 = 5, so the gap from 4 to 9 is 5.