Simplifying Radicals…part I

Hello. One of the most dreaded topics in high school math – as you’ll quickly find out if you do math tutoring – is radicals.

Well, here’s our first math post: simplifying radicals. Today, we’ll look at square roots only.

For example, consider the following:

Simplify √90

Well, here’s what we do:

1) Find the number that divides into 90 and is “square rootable”.

In this case it’s 9, since √9 is exactly 3.

2) Realize that √90 = (√9)(√10)

Since 9×10=90.

3) Replace √9 with 3.

(√9)(√10) = 3√10

So √90 = 3√10.

This is a basic case of simplifying a radical.

Come back for more hints. Have a great day!