Mr. Cleaves wrote four irrational numbers on the SMART board and asked Saul to choose the number closest to 4. Which irrational number should Saul choose?

The correct answer is:

GIVEN-
Given number = 4.
TO FIND-
Number closest to 4 from the given options.
SOLUTION-
We know that square of 4 = 4² = 16.
So, we need to find the number from the given options, whose square is closest to 16.
For that, we find the squares of all the given options as-
a. √12
(√12)² = 12 .......................... (√m² = m)

b. √17
(√17)² = 17 .......................... (√m² = m)
c. √8
(√8)² = 8 .......................... (√m² = m)
d. √10
(√10)² = 10 .......................... (√m² = m)
From the above calculations, we observe that the number closest to 16 is 17. Hence, the number closests to √16 i.e. 4 is √17.
FINAL ANSWER-
Option 'b' i.e. '√17' is the correct answer to the given question.