Question 320018: Summarize the guidelines to follow when simplifying radical expressions.
Answer by Cathy11(2)   (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! Simplest form of a radical has no radicals in the denominator (the bottom part of a fraction0. The radicand (what's inside that square root sign - what you are finding the square root of) can have no decimals or fractions.
To simplify a radical:
Reduce powers
Rationalize denominators
To rationalize a monomial denominator, multiply the numerator and denominator by the radical
(√5)/(√3) so multiply by √3/√3 to get (√15)/3
If you have a monomial denominator such as 4 + √8 multiply by the conjugate 4 - √8. Foil to get 16 - 4√8 + 4√8 - 8 which is just 8.
|
|
|
