Understand factoring. The goal of simplifying a square root is to rewrite it in a form that is easy to understand and to use in math problems. Factoring breaks down a large number into two or more smaller factors, for instance turning 9 into 3 x 3. Once we find these factors, we can rewrite the square root in simpler form, sometimes even turning it into a normal integer. For example, √9 = √(3x3) = 3. Follow the steps below to learn this process for more complicated square roots.