CHAPTER 4

RADICALS

Lesson 4.1 Radicals and Rational Exponents

Numbers are usually expressed as integers, decimals, fractions, and percents. However, another way
of representing numbers that can be useful in dealing with our day-to-day living is by using radicals. For
example, if we are required to get the exact perimeter of a square lot with an area of 120 sq. meters or if we
are interested to measure the exact time it lapsed for the Seneca Piper plane to plunge down into the sea, we
will use radicals.

nth Root and Radical

In a previous lesson, an was defined for integers n. We will extend this concept to include non-integer
or rational exponents such as 21/2, (-8)1/3 and 16-1/4. The following definition of powers with non-integer
exponents will be used.

If m/n is a rational number with positive integer a, then

𝑛 𝑛 𝑚
𝑎𝑚/𝑛 = √𝑎𝑚 = ( √𝑎 ) .

𝑛
The form √𝑎𝑚 is called the principal nth root of am where am is the radicand which is a real number,
n is called the index or order which is a positive integer greater than 1, and √ is the radical sign.
𝑛 𝑛
Specifically, in the equation 𝑎1/𝑛 = 𝑏 or √𝑎 = 𝑏, √𝑎 is called a radical expression or simply radical,
and b is the nth root of a. If the index is not indicated such as √4, then it is understood to be 2 or a square root.

Example 1:
1
Transform (2𝑎𝑏𝑐 2 )3 to radical.
Solution:
1
3 3
Following the definition above, the expression (2𝑎𝑏𝑐 2 )3 is equal to √(2𝑎𝑏𝑐 2 )1 or just √2𝑎𝑏𝑐 2 . This
is read as the cube root or third root of 2abc2.

Example 2:
4
Express √8𝑎3 𝑏 6 as rational exponent.
Solution:
Change first the factors in the radicand to same exponent before applying the definition. Thus, we have
3
4 4 4
√8𝑎3 𝑏 6 = √23 𝑎3 (𝑏2 )3 = √(2𝑎𝑏 2 )3 = (2𝑎𝑏)4 .

If a is a positive number, √𝑎 is the positive square root of a while - √𝑎 is the negative square root of
2
a. Also, √0 = 0, and for positive a, √𝑎 ∙ √𝑎 = (√𝑎) = a.

Example 3:
Find each square root.
a. √144 b. – √900 c. √−121
Solution:
a. √144 = √(12)2 = 122/2 = 12 𝑜𝑟 √144 = √(−12)2 = −122/2 = −12. Note that 144 has two
square roots, +12 and – 12. However, unless specified, we take +12 as the square root of 144 and
call it as its principal root.
b. – √900 = −√302 = −30
c. √−121 does not exist in the set of real numbers.

1
EXERCISES 1:
1. Express the following rational exponents as radicals.
a. 𝑎4/3 b. 𝑥 −3/5 c. 𝑎2/3 𝑏1/2 𝑐1/3
2. Transform the following radicals as rational exponents.
4 3 5
a. √𝑎2 𝑏 3 𝑧 b. √81𝑥 8 𝑦12 c. (√134𝑎2 𝑏 2 𝑐)
3. Find the square root of each radical.
196 √169
a. – √64 b. √ 25 c. −
√49

Real nth Roots of a

𝑛
The following principles may help in evaluating √𝑎.

𝑛
Principle 1: If n is even and 𝑎 > 0, then √𝑎 has one positive and one negative real roots. If n is even and 𝑎 <
𝑛
0, then √𝑎 has no real roots.

𝑛 𝑛
Principle 2: If n is odd and 𝑎 > 0, then √𝑎 has one positive real roots. If n is odd and 𝑎 < 0, then √𝑎 has one
negative real root.

Example 4: Find the real roots of each radical.

4 4
a. √16 c. √−625
3 5
b. √−64 d. √243

Solution:
4
a. For √16, the index is 4 and because a = 16 > 0, it has one positive and one negative real roots. Hence,
4
√16 = ± 2 since (±2)4 =16
The principal root, however, is +2.
3 3
b. For √−64, the index is 3 and since a = −64 < 0, it has one negative real root. So, √−64 = −4.
4
c. √−625 has no real roots since the index is even and the radicand is less than zero.
5
d. √243 = 3 since 35 = 243.

EXERCISES 2:
Determine the real roots of each radical.
4 5
1. √81 4. √−32
6 99
2. √1000000 5. √−1
3
3. √125 6. √−361

Rules of Radicals
The following are rules for radicals.
𝑛 𝑛 𝑛 𝑛
1. √𝑎𝑛 = ( √𝑎) = 𝑎 whenever √𝑎 exists as a real number.
Example 5:
5 5
a. ( √𝑎) = 𝑥𝑦
b. √25𝑚2 𝑛2 = √(5𝑚𝑛)2 = 5𝑚𝑛
3 3
c. √8𝑦 6 = √(2𝑦 2 )3 = 2𝑦 2

2
 𝑛 𝑛 𝑛 𝑛 𝑛
2. √𝑎𝑏 = √𝑎 ∙ √𝑏 whenever √𝑎 and √𝑏 exist as real numbers.
Example 6:
a. √45 = √9 ∙ √5 = 3√5
5 5 5 5 5 5
b. √−64 = √−32 ∙ √2 = √(−2)5 ∙ √2 = −2√2
4 4 4 4 4
c. √32𝑚13 = √16 ∙ √2 ∙ √𝑚12 ∙ 4√𝑚 = 2𝑚3 √2𝑚

𝑛
𝑛 𝑎 √𝑎 𝑛 𝑛
3. √𝑏 = 𝑛 whenever √𝑎 and √𝑏 exist as real numbers and b ≠ 0.
√𝑏
Example 7:
3 3 3
3 −7 √7 √7 √7
a. √ = 3 = 𝑜𝑟 −
64 √−64 −4 4
5
5 1 √1 1
b. √243 = 5 =3
√243
4
4 81 √81 3
c. √ = 4 = 𝑚2
𝑚8 √𝑚8

𝑚 𝑛 𝑛
4. √ √𝑎 = √ 𝑚√𝑎 = 𝑚𝑛√𝑎 whenever 𝑚√𝑎 and 𝑛√𝑎 exist as real numbers.
Example 8:
3 6
a. √ √2𝑥 = √2𝑥
33
b. √√125 = √ √125 = √5
4
c. √4𝑚8 = √√4𝑚8 = √2𝑚4 = 𝑚2 √2

EXERCISES 3:
Simplify the following radicals by applying the rules.
4 4 5
1. (√5) 4. √−243𝑥 7
3 3 −2
2. √8𝑎3 𝑏 3 5. √
8𝑥 6
10
3. √75 6. √32𝑎5

Lesson 4.2 Simplifying Radicals

In the preceding lesson, we were introduced to radicals and its rules. This time, we will study further
the different ways to simplify radicals.

When is a Radical Simplified?

A radical is simplified or in its simplest form if it satisfies the following conditions:
a. there are no perfect factors from the radicand;
b. there are no exponents greater than or equal to the index;
c. the index and the exponents are relatively prime (GCF = 1);
d. there are no radicals in the denominator; and
e. there are no fractions in the radicand.

Example 1: Which of the following radicals are in simplest forms?

𝑥
a. √50 d. 2
√
3 3𝑥
b. √𝑥 4 𝑦 5 e. √ 5
𝑥𝑦
f. √
6
c. √𝑥 4 𝑦 2 3𝑧
3
Answer:
a. √50 is not simplified since there is a perfect factor of 50, which is 25, in the radicand.
3
b. √𝑥 4 𝑦 5 is not simplified since the exponents 4 and 5 are greater than the index which is 3.
6
c. √𝑥 4 𝑦 2 is not simplified because the exponents 4 and 2 are not relatively prime to the index 6.
𝑥
d. 2 is also not simplified because there is a radical in the denominator.
√
3𝑥
e. √ 5 is not simplified too since the radicand is a fraction.
√𝑥𝑦
f. 3𝑧
is simplified because it satisfies all the conditions.

Removing the Perfect nth Root

The first method to simplify radicals is to examine the radicand and remove the perfect nth root in it.
𝑛 𝑛 𝑛
To do this, split the radicand into perfect and non-perfect nth roots. Then, apply the rule √𝑎𝑏 = √𝑎 ∙ √𝑏.

Example 2:
a. √48𝑥 5 = √16𝑥 4 ∙ √3𝑥 = 4𝑥 2 √3𝑥
b. √20𝑝𝑞 2 𝑟 3 = √4𝑞 2 𝑟 2 ∙ √5𝑝𝑟 = 2𝑞𝑟√5𝑝𝑟
c. √72𝑎4 𝑏 9 𝑐 5 = √36𝑎4 𝑏8 𝑐 4 ∙ √2𝑏𝑐 = 6𝑎2 𝑏 4 𝑐 2 √2𝑏𝑐
3 3 3 3
d. √−27𝑥 6 𝑦 2 = √−27𝑥 6 ∙ √𝑦 2 = −3𝑥 2 √𝑦 2
3 3 3 3
e. √−16𝑚6 𝑛5 = √−8𝑚6 𝑛3 ∙ √2𝑛2 = −2𝑚2 𝑛√2𝑛2

EXERCISES 4:
Simplify the following by removing perfect roots.
1. √300
3
2. √1000𝑥 3 𝑦 5
4
3. √80𝑚3 𝑛6
3
4. √−250𝑎5 𝑏6 𝑐 7
5
5. √−64𝑝7 𝑞8 𝑟11

Reducing the Index to the Lowest Order

𝑚 𝑛 𝑛
𝑚 𝑚𝑛
Another way to a simplify radical is to reduce the index by applying the rule √ √𝑎 = √ √𝑎 = √𝑎,
or by transforming it to exponential form and simplifying the rational exponent.

Example 3:
6 3
3
a. √9 = √√9 = √3
10 5
b. √32𝑥 15 = √ √32𝑥 15 = √2𝑥 3 = √𝑥 2 ∙ √2𝑥 = 𝑥√2𝑥
8 4 4 4
c. √36𝑎4 𝑏10 = √√36𝑎4 𝑏10 = √6𝑎2 𝑏 5 = 𝑏 √6𝑎2 𝑏
6 3 3 3 3
d. √6561𝑎12 𝑏10 = √√6561𝑎12 𝑏8 = √81𝑎6 𝑏 4 = √27𝑎6 𝑏 3 ∙ √3𝑏 = 3𝑎2 𝑏 3 √3𝑏
4
e. √4𝑥 2 + 12𝑥 + 9 = √√(2𝑥 + 3)2 = √2𝑥 + 3

4
EXERCISES 5: Simplify the following by reducing the order.
4
1. √4
10
2. √16𝑚6
8
3. √16𝑝2 𝑞12 𝑟 6
6
4. √𝑥 3 − 3𝑥 2 𝑦 + 3𝑥𝑦 2 − 𝑦 3
6
5. 2√576𝑥 10 𝑦 8

Rationalizing the Denominator of the Radicand

The last method is rationalizing the radicand’s denominator. This involves removing the radical sign
in the denominator; that is, making the radicand nonfractional. We do this by multiplying both the numerator
and denominator by a rationalizing factor to make the denominator a perfect root of n. Here, we also use the
𝑛
𝑛 𝑎 √𝑎
rule √𝑏 = 𝑛 .
√𝑏

Example 4:
1 1 √2 √2 1 1 2 2 √2
a. = ∙ = 𝑜𝑟 2 = √2 ∙ 2 = √22 =
√2 √2 √2 2 √ 2
3
3 1 3 1 4 3 4 √4
b. √16 = √42 ∙ 4 = √43 = 4
3 3 2𝑥 6𝑥 √6𝑥
c. √32𝑥 = √32𝑥 ∙ 2𝑥 = √64𝑥2 = 8𝑥
3
3 −2 3 −2 𝑥2𝑦2 3 −2𝑥 2 𝑦 2 − √2𝑥 2 𝑦 2
d. √𝑥 4 𝑦7 = √𝑥 4 𝑦7 ∙ 𝑥 2 𝑦 2 = √ 𝑥 6𝑦9
= 𝑥 2𝑦3

EXERCISES 6: Simplify the following by rationalizing the denominator.

1
1. 4
√8𝑥
6 1
2. √64𝑚4
3 2
3. √3𝑥 2 𝑦3
5 −2
4. √𝑎4 𝑏7 𝑐 8
𝑚√3𝑚3 𝑛
5.
√6𝑚𝑛

Lesson 4.3 Operations on Radicals

Radicals, just like algebraic expressions, can also be combined using the four fundamental operations.
This will be discussed in this lesson.

Addition and Subtraction of Radicals

Recall how we defined similar terms in the previous lesson. Two or more terms are similar if they
have the same literal coefficient of same power. With radicals, it means the same radicand of same order. 3√2
3 4 3
and 5√2 are similar radicals while the pairs of √2 and √2, √3 and √5, and √𝑎𝑏 and √𝑎2 𝑏𝑐 are dissimilar
radicals. The rules we have previously learned on addition and subtraction of algebraic expressions applies as
well to expressions with radicals.

5
Example 1:
3 3 3 3
Combine the following: 2 √3 + √3 − 8 √3 + 9 √3.
Solution:
Nothing has much to do with this problem. We simply combine the coefficients of the radicals since
all are similar.
3 3 3 3 3 3
2 √3 + √3 − 8 √3 + 9 √3 = (2 + 1 − 8 + 9)√3 = 4 √3

Example 2:
Perform the operation: 5𝑎√2𝑏 + 8𝑎√2𝑏 − 10𝑎√2𝑏.
Solution:
All radicals are similar so we simply combine the coefficients outside the radical sign. Hence,
5𝑎√2𝑏 + 8𝑎√2𝑏 − 10𝑎√2𝑏 = (5𝑎 + 8𝑎 − 10𝑎)√2𝑏 = 3𝑎√2𝑏.

Example 3:
3 3 3 3
Combine 𝑥 3√2𝑦 + √54𝑥 3 𝑦 − 2 √2𝑥 3 𝑦 = 𝑥 3√2𝑦 + √33 ∙ 2𝑥 3 𝑦 − 2 √2𝑥 3 𝑦
= 𝑥 3√2𝑦 + 3𝑥 3√2𝑦 − 2𝑥 3√2𝑦
= 2𝑥 3√2𝑦

Example 4:
Find the perimeter of the polygon.

√300𝑎3 𝑐𝑚 √320𝑎5 𝑐𝑚

√20𝑎3 𝑐𝑚
Solution:
P = a + b + c (By definition of perimeter of a triangle)
= √300𝑎3 + √20𝑎3 + √320𝑎5
= √100 ∙ 3𝑎2 ∙ 𝑎 + √4 ∙ 5𝑎2 ∙ 𝑎 + √64 ∙ 5 ∙ 𝑎4 ∙ 𝑎
= 10𝑎√3𝑎 + 2𝑎√5𝑎 + 8𝑎2 √5𝑎
= [10𝑎√3𝑎 + (8𝑎2 + 2𝑎)√5𝑎] cm

EXERCISES:
1. Combine the following:
a. 3√11 + 2√7 − 5√7 + 9√11
b. 2√12 + 4√3
c. 6𝑟√27𝑟 2 𝑠 + 3𝑟 2 √3𝑠
d. √𝑥 2 − √𝑥 2 𝑦 + 𝑥 √𝑦
3 3
e. √𝑥 10 𝑦 2 − √𝑥 4 𝑦 8

2. Find the perimeter of the rectangular wall below.

(4√𝑎3 𝑏 7 − 5𝑎√𝑏) 𝑓𝑡

(25𝑎𝑏√𝑎𝑏 5 − 5𝑎√𝑏)𝑓𝑡
6
Multiplication of Radicals
𝑛 𝑛 𝑛 𝑛 𝑛
To multiply radicals of the same index, we follow the rule √𝑎 ∙ √𝑏 = √𝑎𝑏 whenever √𝑎 and √𝑏
exist as real numbers. To multiply radicals of different indices, express them first as radicals of the same index.
The index of the new radicals should be the LCM of the indices of the original radicals.
Example 6:
3 3
Multiply: √2 ∙ √3.
Solution:
3 3 3 3
Using the rule, we have √2 ∙ √3 = √2 ∙ 3 = √6.

Example 7:
3 3 1
What is the product of √81 and √− 3?
Solution:
3 3 1 3 81 3
√81 ∙ √− 3 = √− 3
= √−27 = −3

Example 8:
1 12
Multiply: √54 ∙ √ .
6 7
Solution:
Again, we use the product rule.
1 12 1 54∙12 𝑛 𝑛 𝑛
√54 ∙ √ = √ (Follow √𝑎 ∙ √𝑏 = √𝑎𝑏)
6 7 6 7

1 34 ∙22 ∙2
= 6√ 7
(Factor the radicand into perfect squares)
1 2
= ∙ 32 ∙ 2 ∙ √ (Extract the root)
6 7
𝑛
18 √2 𝑛 𝑎 √𝑎
= 6 √7
(Simplify and use √𝑏 = 𝑛 )
√𝑏
√2 √7
=3 ∙ (Rationalize by multiplying √7)
√7 √7
3
= 7
√14 (Simplify)
Example 9:
Determine the product of √14𝑥 2 𝑦 5 𝑧 ∙ √35𝑥 4 𝑦 3 𝑧 2.
Solution:
𝑛 𝑛 𝑛
√14𝑥 2 𝑦 5 𝑧 ∙ √35𝑥 4 𝑦 3 𝑧 2 = √14 ∙ 35𝑥 6 𝑦 8 𝑧 3 (Follow √𝑎 ∙ √𝑏 = √𝑎𝑏)
= √72 𝑥 6 𝑦 8 𝑧 2 ∙ √10𝑧` (Extract perfect squares)
= 7𝑥 3 𝑦 4 𝑧√10𝑧 (Simplify)

Example 10:
Find the products of the following expressions.
3 3
a. √5𝑚 ∙ √5𝑚 b. √2𝑥 ∙ √9𝑦 2
Solution:
a. In this case, the radicands are the same but the indices are different.
1 1 𝑚
𝑛
√5𝑚 ∙ ∛5𝑚 = (5𝑚)2 ∙ (5𝑚)3 (Use √𝑎𝑚 = 𝑎 𝑛 )
1 1
= (5𝑚)2+3 (Use 𝑎𝑚 ∙ 𝑎𝑛 = 𝑎𝑚+𝑛 )
5
= (5𝑚)6 (Add the exponents)
𝑚
6 𝑛
= √(5𝑚)5 (Use √𝑎𝑚 = 𝑎 𝑛 )
6
= √3125𝑚5 (Simplify)
7
 b. As noticed, the indices and radicands are different.
1 1 𝑚
3 𝑛
√2𝑥 ∙ √9𝑦 2 = (2𝑥)2 ∙ (9𝑦 2 )3 (Use √𝑎𝑚 = 𝑎 𝑛 )
3 2
= (2𝑥)6 ∙ (9𝑦 2 )6 (Change the rational exponents into similar fractions)
𝑚
6 𝑛
= √(2𝑥)3 (9𝑦 2 )2 (Use √𝑎𝑚 = 𝑎 𝑛 )
6
= √648𝑥 3 𝑦 4 (Simplify)

We can also use the same concept of multiplying when multiplying polynomials involving radicals.
Some examples are illustrated below.

Example 11:
Find the product of √2(√3 − √5).
Solution:
By distributive property, we have
√2(√3 − √5) = √2 ∙ 3 − √2 ∙ 5
= √6 − √10

Example 12:
Determine the product: (4𝑛 − √3)(2√3𝑛 + 5).
Solution:
(4𝑛 − √3)(2√3𝑛 + 5) = 8√3𝑛2 + 20𝑛 − 2√9𝑛 − 5√3 (Apply FOIL method)
= 8√3𝑛2 + 20𝑛 − 6𝑛 − 5√3 (Simplify)
= 8√3𝑛2 + 14𝑛 − 5√3 (Combine)

Division of Radicals
When dividing a radical expression with a single term divisor or denominator, the process is just like
rationalizing the expression itself. Take the next examples for illustration.

Example 13:
1−√10
Find the quotient of .
√2
Solution:
1−√10 1−√10 √2
= ∙ 2 (Rationalize by multiplying √2)
√2 √2 √
√2−√20
= (Use distributive property)
√4
√2−2√5
= 2
(Simplify √4 and √20)
1
= 2
√2 − √5 (Divide both terms by 2)

On the other hand, when we divide radical expressions using a divisor which is a binomial, we consider
its conjugate. The conjugate of a binomial containing square roots is a binomial that has the same two terms
with the sign of the second term changed. That is the conjugate of 𝑥 − √𝑦 is 𝑥 + √𝑦.

Example 14:
𝑥
Simplify: .
√𝑥−√𝑦
Solution:
𝑥 𝑥 √𝑥+√𝑦
= ∙ (Multiply by the conjugate √𝑥 + √𝑦)
√𝑥−√𝑦 √𝑥−√𝑦 √𝑥+√𝑦
𝑥√𝑥+𝑥 𝑦
= 𝑥−𝑦√ (Use distributive property in the numerator and use (a – b)(a + b) =
a2 – b2 in the denominator.)
8
EXERCISES:
Perform the indicated operation and simplify the final answer.
1. −5√18 ∙ 6√8
2. √5𝑎𝑥 3 ∙ √20𝑎2 𝑥 3 𝑦
3. √49𝑥 5 𝑦 4 ∙ √2𝑥𝑦 6 𝑧 3
4. (√3 + 2√2)(√2 − 2√2)
3 4
5. √12𝑎2 𝑏 5 ∙ √54𝑎9 𝑏 3
4
6. √3𝑚4 ∙ √3𝑚4
7. √3(√3𝑛 − 4𝑛 + 1)
12
8.
√5+2
√𝑥−2
9.
√𝑥+2
5
√(𝑚+𝑛)7
10. 3
√(𝑚+𝑛)4