Question 98028
the "square" root symbol is just a root symbol where the 2 is the "default" value ... if there is no number, it is a square root


as you have discovered, any positive integer may be used


in this case, a 3 indicates a "cube" root ... something multiplied by itself 3 times to get the value inside the symbol


since 2*2*2=8 and y*y*y=y^3, the cube root of 8y^3 is 2y