The tutor visits another common topic of Math 10.

Consider the following question:

Without a calculator, place in order, least to greatest, the following list:

√48,-100,5√2,7

Solution:

We know that -100, the only negative, must be least.

Among √48,5√2 and 7, we need to use the trick of putting a number to radical form:

7=√49

With 5√2, we can do the following:

5√2=√25√2=√50

So the original list

√48,-100,5√2,7

becomes

√48,-100, √50, √49

which is easily put in order from least to greatest:

-100,√48, √49, √50

Let’s not forget to rewrite each number in the form it was given:

-100, √48, 7, 5√2

I hope you’ll agree the process is relatively easy:)

Jack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane, Cambpell River, BC.