Question 84326: In general why is it important to square both sides of an equation?
Answer by rapaljer(4671)   (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! When an equation has one or more square roots involving a variable, it is necessary to square both sides of the equation one or more times in order to remove the square roots and enable you to solve the equation. The trick however, is that when you square both sides of an equation, you do NOT guarantee that the answers that you get at the end of the problem will solve the original equation. These are called EXTRANEOUS ROOTS and must be rejected!! Therefore, any time you square both sides of an equation, you MUST check the answers! They are NOT guaranteed!!
R^2 at SCC
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