Monday, February 22, 2010

Simplifying Radical Expressions

My Algebra I students are having lots of problems with simplifying radical expressions. It seems that they have run across a concept that eludes them. I am posting about this topic to provide several more examples.

√18

First, we find the prime factorization of 18. If you need help with this concept, go here.

√18 = √(2•3•3)

Since the 3 is repeated twice, we can pull it out from under the square root symbol. Therefore,

√18 = 3√2

Now my students would be asking what happens if you have variables?

√24x3y2

√24x3y2 = √(2•2•2•3•x•x•x•y•y)

Pull out everything that is repeated twice - 2, x, y. Leave everything else under the radical symbol.

2xy√(6x)

Some other places to visit for more details on this concept are here and here and here.

If you are one of my students and would like some extra credit, please visit those sites and comment here on whether or not they were helpful.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mrs. Bentley
I figured out more about the perfect squares and how to start the problems and how to reduce em to the lowest term

J Harris

Josh J said...

do u use perfect squares to simplify radical equations

J Clark said...

I understood it to begin with, but now that i look at these other sites and see how other people are doing it i have learned how to do it different ways. I thought it to be helpful and i think i got this down to a T.

D Johnson said...

this helps out alot it breaks it down and explains it better. i think i got how to do it now.

Angelica L said...

i been having problems with when you simplify once you can still simplify smaller and it help me with that.

S LEWIS said...

i knew how to do it but there was one part that i did not know how to do but i think i get it since i looked at this web site. thank you for posting this on here MRS BENTLEY

K Brunson said...

I get how to do these ones but its the ones were you add and subtract radicals and the fraction ones that confuse me

j davidson said...

J DAVIDSON. I used 2 have very bad problems with radicals. but since made a 100 and studied the radical rules while i was suspended i really didnt need the extra credit sites. but when i looked at the it sites helped me understand the concept of simplflying radicals and gave me more tips and hints about answering the tough problems of radicals.

Brittany J said...

i understand now how to do it this page helped me a whole lot thanks a million Mrs. Bentley

Anonymous said...

mrs. bentley
I now know that when simplifying radicals that you should always go for the biggest number first to simplify it.
R NeSmith

Anonymous said...

ok, I get it now. Before I was always trying to find a shortcut and that just confused me more. Now that i looked at it, I do beleive Im going to be able to do it step by step, and because of this site Ill be able to do each problem without looking at an already completed problem to know how to do it.
H. Abbott

s lewis said...

i finlly got it because this website explains it all

K.Langston said...

To start off i didnt understand this alot and may have been something to do with me missing a few days of school due to i was really sick. However, reading this information,and really thinking about it i believe i do understand the materials now!!
K.langston

K Hicks. said...

This website was realy helpful when it comes to breaking down the problem but i thought there was more to it? & i'll use the information to take the test..does this website hold all the info we need?? thanks again :)

k.hicks

Maggie E said...

To begin with i didnt understand it but once i looked at the web site it explained it all...
M. Ellis

harleyw said...

i didnt understand when we was working it in class.but this website helped me understand it better.

h.white

Anonymous said...

these sites helped me understand how to simplify radicals more.

B.Baggett

cynthia m said...

i knew how to do most of this but it was sometimes confusing..seeing these sites has helped me see things clearer and now i understand it way better.. c.mendez

Anonymous said...

when we first started simplifying radicals, i was like i want be able to do this. but i know enough now to get me by. thanks to this website

Greg B said...

this site was helpful i found out i was doin a couple of things wrong but i think i got it now

C Hill said...

simplifing radicals helped me by understandin how uput all the factorizations in it in another step i didnt understand it at first i was guessin

thomas b said...

i finaly figured out hw to work the prime factorization problems with a veriable

wesley said...

i learned alot from this website i learned how to break down the problen and that was what i was havin problems with

Anonymous said...

This website has told me a lot on how to Simplifying Radical Expressions. I didn't understand how to do it at firs but now I do. :]
A.Sutton

Anonymous said...

what about cube roots?