Need Help evaluating square roots of concentrations

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gabrielmeraz

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I've been working on equilibrium problems and whenever I come across with someting like x^2= 1.3 * 10^-11 or the like...I am unable to solve for x, any suggestions on how to solve for square roots of this kind?? :scared:
 
I think that is a good question. It's not an easy mathematical problem that can be solved on the DAT. However, I think the faster way may not be solving the problem with raw power, instead go through the answer choices and pick the one that match.

One way I go about doing this is convert it to x^2=13 * 10^-10. Then we can solve the squart root of 10^-10, and the squart root of 13 is somewhere between 3 and 4.

Keep in mind that the Topscore general chem questions usually requires more raw calculation than the actual test itself. Best wishes.