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Grade 11
Module 1. Exponents and surds
Index

1. Complex Number System:

• Real Number System
• Rational and Irrational Numbers
• Surds
2. Exponents Revision:
• Laws
• Simplifying exponents with numerical bases
• Simplifying rational exponents
• Simplifying exponents using factorisation
3. Rational exponents and surds
• Introduction to rational exponents and surds
• Simplifying surds
• Rationalising the denominator
• Solving surd equations

1. Complex Number System

At school level, we mainly concentrate on

the Real Number System.
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The Real Number System

1 2 3 . . . N Natural Numbers

0 No

Whole Numbers
0 1 2 3 . . .

Z
-3 -2 -1 etc.
Integers

. . . -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 . . .

Q
etc.

Rational Numbers

. . . -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3...

etc. Q’ Irrational Numbers

. . . -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 ...
R
Re
Numbers
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Rational and Irrational Numbers

Rational Numbers (Q): “Rational” comes from “ratio”. A rational number is a number
a
that can be written as a ratio or fraction where a and b are integers and b  0 .
b
The following numbers are rational:

5 1 5 −6
5= 2 = -6=
1 2 2 1

Irrational numbers (Q’): irrational numbers cannot be expressed as the ratio of two

integers e.g. 2 ,  , − 5 , 3
2 etc. Irrational numbers of the form m
n (e.g. 2 ,
3
4 etc.) are called surds.

Surds
You will need the following terminology:

√4 = 2

3
Remember: √8 = 2 Why? 2 × 2 × 2 = 8
4
Also, √16 = 2 Why? 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 = 16
3 4
Thus, √4 ; √8 ; √16 are all in surd form and you can find out the exact value.

What about √2 ? This is also in surd form, but it is a number that you cannot get the
exact value. It is a non-repeating and non-terminating decimal, and it is called an
Irrational Number.
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How do we deal with the following?

Eg 1. Write the following in its simplest surd form:
a. √12

b. √75

3
c. √56

How do we estimate the value of a surd?

Consider the surd √3
Now: 1 < 3 < 4 (Finding the nearest perfect squares on either side)
Thus: √1 < √3 < √4
∴ 1 < √3 < 2 (i.e. √3 lies between 1 and 2)

Eg 2. Without using a calculator, find out between which two integers the following
surds lie: √28

Eg 3. Without using a calculator, find out between which two integers the following
3
surds lie: √90
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2. Exponents Revision
Introduction

What does the following mean?

𝑎𝑛
So, 23 = 2 × 2 × 2 and 𝑎3 = 𝑎 × 𝑎 × 𝑎
So 𝑎100 =

Law 1
What is 𝑎3 × 𝑎5 equal to?

When you are multiplying two exponents together where the bases are the same,
you simply add the exponents: 𝑎 𝑛 × 𝑎 𝑚 = 𝑎 𝑛+𝑚 with 𝑎, 𝑛, 𝑚 ∈ 𝑅.

Law 2
𝑎8
What is the answer to ?
𝑎3

When you are dividing two exponents, where the bases are the same, you subtract
𝑎𝑛
the bottom exponent from the top one: = 𝑎𝑛−𝑚 with 𝑎 ≠ 0; 𝑎, 𝑛, 𝑚 ∈ 𝑅.
𝑎𝑚

Be careful when working with numbers as bases:

24
=
22

𝑎80
Eg. Simplify: 𝑎60
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What happens when you have more variables on the denominator than the
numerator?
𝑎3
Eg. Simplify: 𝑎10

This results in a new notation with negative exponents:

1
𝑎−𝑛 =
𝑎𝑛

1 1
So, 2−1 = and 3−1 =
2 3

1
Also, 2−3 = 23

What happens when we have the same term on the numerator divided by the same
term on the denominator?

𝑎 𝑎
𝑎
= 1 if we cancel the variables and we also have 𝑎
= 𝑎1−1 = 𝑎0 using Law 2.

This leads us to the important concept: anything to the power of 0 is 1. (𝑎 ≠ 0)

𝑎0 = 1
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Law 3
When you have two values or variables multiplied together and then raised to a
further power, each of the values or variables is raised to that power:

(𝑎𝑏)𝑛 = 𝑎 𝑛 𝑏 𝑛

Eg. Simplify:
a. (2 × 3)4

b. (𝑎2 𝑏3 )2

Law 4
When you have two values or variables divided by each other and then raised to a
power, you raise each of the values or variables to that power:
𝑎 𝑛 𝑎𝑛
( ) = 𝑛
𝑏 𝑏

Law 5
When you have a base and an exponent raised to a further power, you multiply the
exponent by the power: (𝑎 𝑛 )𝑚 = 𝑎 𝑛𝑚

Eg Simplify:
a. (24 × 32 )5

4
𝑎2
b. (𝑏3 )
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Summary of the Exponent Laws

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Simplifying exponents with numerical bases

Eg 1. Simplify: 132𝑥 × 134𝑥

Eg 2. Simplify: (5𝑦)4

2−3
Eg 3. Simplify: 33

𝑥 2 𝑦 −3
Eg 4. Simplify: 𝑥5 𝑦
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2𝑚+21
Eg 5. Simplify: 2𝑚+24

35𝑥 × 815𝑥 × 33𝑥

Eg 6. Simplify: 98𝑥

52𝑦−3 ×24𝑦+4
Eg 7. Simplify: 10−5𝑦+5

Simplifying rational exponents

In this section we will be dealing with exponents that are rational numbers (fractions).

1 2
Eg 1. Simplify: 𝑎3 × 𝑎3

3
𝑎4
Eg 2. Simplify: 1
𝑎4

1 4
Eg 3. Simplify: (24 )
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1
Eg 4. Simplify: (16𝑥 4 )2

1
Eg 5. Simplify: (8𝑥 3 )3

𝑏
𝑛
Thus: √𝑥 𝑏 = 𝑥 𝑛

Eg 6. Simplify: 2√16𝑥 2 𝑦 4

Simplifying exponents using factorisation

𝑥 2 −4
In previous grades, if you were given a question like the following: , you had to
𝑥+2

factorise the expression in order to simplify it:

𝑥 2 −4 (𝑥−2)(𝑥+2) (𝑥−2)
Thus = =
𝑥+2 (𝑥+2) 1

We are going to use the same concept of factorising in order to simplify the following:

4𝑥 −1
Eg 1. Simplify: 2𝑥 +1

7𝑥 + 7𝑥+2
Eg 2. Simplify: 3×7𝑥 −7𝑥
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3. Rational exponents and surds

Note:

3
Exponential form 23 = 8 ⟺ 2 = √8
Surd form
2
5 = 25 ⟺ 5 = √25

Thus: 𝑟𝑛 = 𝑎 ⟺ 𝑟 = 𝑛√𝑎

If we manipulate this exponential form: 𝑟𝑛 = 𝑎

𝑚 1
𝑛
Also thus: 𝑎 𝑛 = (𝑎𝑚 )𝑛 = √𝑎𝑚 𝑎 > 0; 𝑟 > 0; 𝑚, 𝑛 𝜖 𝑍 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑛 ≠ 0

1
Eg 1. Simplify: 202

3
Eg 2. Simplify: 162

1
Eg 3. Simplify: (0,008)3
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Simplifying surds
The following will help us when we start simplifying surds:

The following examples use the above Surd Laws:

Eg 1. Simplify: √4 × √25

36
Eg 2. Simplify: √100

32
Eg 3. Simplify: √ √64

𝑚
Eg 4. Simplify: ( 𝑛√𝑎 )
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Let us now look at more simplifying questions:

Eg 1. Simplify: √60

3
Eg 2. Simplify: √81

Eg 3. Simplify: √147 + √108

√12
Eg 4. Simplify:
√3

Rationalising the denominator

We use this concept whenever we have a fraction where there is an irrational

2
number of the denominator eg. 3
√

Remember: √3 × √3 = 3. We are going to use this concept to help us rationalise a

denominator.

Let us look at the following:

𝑏
Rationalise the denominator of the following:
√𝑎
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Eg 1. Rationalise the denominator of:
√5

√3+ √7
Eg 2. Rationalise the denominator of:
√2

𝑥−4
Eg 3. Rationalise the denominator of:
√𝑥+2

1
Eg 4. Rationalise the denominator of:
√5−1
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Solving surd equations

We are now going to look at solving some equations that have surds in them.

Remember:
• isolate the surd.
• even numerator has a + and – sign.
• test your solutions.

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Eg 1. Solve for x: 5 √𝑥 4 = 405

Eg 2. Solve for x: √𝑥 − 2 − 3 = 0

Eg 3. Solve for x: 2𝑥 − 7√𝑥 + 3 = 0

Eg 4. Solve for x: √2𝑥 − 5 = 2 − 𝑥