1. The problem is to understand what \( \lambda^{1/2} \) means. 2. In mathematics, \( \lambda^{1/2} \) represents the square root of \( \lambda \). 3. The general rule is that for any number \( a \) and exponent \( m/n \), \( a^{m/n} = \sqrt[n]{a^m} \). 4. Specifically, \( \lambda^{1/2} = \sqrt{\lambda} \). 5. This means you are finding a number which, when multiplied by itself, equals \( \lambda \). 6. For example, if \( \lambda = 9 \), then \( \lambda^{1/2} = \sqrt{9} = 3 \). 7. This is a common notation in algebra and calculus to denote roots using exponents.