Question 972558: how do you simplify radical 8x squared
Found 2 solutions by lwsshak3, ikleyn:
Answer by lwsshak3(11628)   (Show Source):
Answer by ikleyn(53875)  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! .
how do you simplify radical 8x squared
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@lwsshak3 gives the answer in his post  .
This answer is incorrect, and I will explain it below.
In expression  , value of x can be positive or negative (or zero).
Expression makes sense and is defined for both positive and/or negative values of x.
Also, according to the common agreement, square root of a number is understood in a middle school as a positive value.
THEREFORE, the correct answer to the problem's question is  .
It works universally for positive and negative values of 'x',
while expression gives a negative value for negative 'x', which contradicts to the common agreement.
This question/problem is a standard  , and almost all
unfortunate newcomers, who are not familiar with this explanation, fall into this trap.
The percentage of these unfortunate newcomers is about 99.999%, I think, or even more than that.
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