MATH 2013 College Algebra

5. RATIONAL EXPONENTS AND RADICALS

5.1. The 𝑛th Root of 𝑎
5.2 Rational Exponents
5.3 Simplifying Radicals
5.4 Operations Involving Radicals

5.1. THE 𝑛th ROOT OF 𝑎

DEF: If 𝑛 is a positive integer greater than 1 and 𝑎 and 𝑏 are real numbers such that 𝑏 𝑛 = 𝑎, then
𝑏 is the 𝑛th root of 𝑎. If 𝑛 = 2 or 3, 𝑏 is a square root or cube root, respectively, of 𝑎.

Example 1: 2 and −2 are square roots of 4

Example 2: −5 is a cube root of −125
Example 3: 3 and −3 are fourth roots of 81

In general, a real number a has 𝑛 nth roots, but some or all of these may not be real numbers.
As in the definition, we will discuss only the real roots in this chapter.

DEF: If 𝑛 is a positive integer greater than 1 and 𝑎 is a real number, then the principal nth
root of a, denoted √𝒂, is defined as follows:
𝒏

1. If 𝑎 is a positive integer, then √𝒂 is the positive 𝑛th root of 𝑎.

𝒏

2. If 𝑎 is a negative integer and 𝑛 is odd, then √𝒂 is the negative 𝑛th root of 𝑎.

𝒏

𝑛
3. √0 = 0

The expression √𝑎 is also known as radical. The real number 𝑎 is called the radicand while 𝑛 is
𝑛

the index of the radical. If the index does not appear in the radical, it is understood to be 2.

Example 4: 2 , −2 are square roots of 4 but the principal square root of 4 is 2

Example 5: 5 is the principal cube root of 125
Example 6: −5 is the principal cube root of −125

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5.2 RATIONAL EXPONENTS

DEF:
1. If 𝑛 > 1 is a positive integer, and 𝑎 and √𝑎 are real numbers, then
𝑛

𝑛
𝑎1⁄𝑛 = √𝑎.
2. If 𝑚 and 𝑛 are positive integers that are relatively prime, and 𝑎 and √𝑎 are real numbers,
𝑛

then
𝑛
𝑎𝑚⁄𝑛 = √𝑎𝑚 .

Example 1:
5
161⁄2 = 4 (−32)1⁄5 = √−32 = −2
5 3
51⁄2 = √5 323⁄5 = ( √32) = 23 = 8

LAWS OF EXPONENTS (FOR RATIONAL EXPONENTS)

If 𝑟 and 𝑠 are rational numbers, then
1. 𝑎𝑟 ∙ 𝑎 𝑠 = 𝑎𝑟+𝑠 4. (𝑎𝑟 )𝑠 = 𝑎𝑟𝑠
𝑎𝑟
2. 𝑎𝑟 ∙ 𝑏 𝑟 = (𝑎𝑏)𝑟 5. 𝑎𝑠 = 𝑎𝑟−𝑠 , 𝑎 ≠ 0
𝑎𝑟 𝑎 𝑟 𝑚⁄ 1
3. = (𝑏 ) , 𝑏 ≠ 0 6. 𝑎 − 𝑛 = 𝑎𝑚⁄𝑛
𝑏𝑟

The exception occurs for 𝑎 < 0 and for certain values of 𝑟 and 𝑠, when (𝑎𝑟 )𝑠 ≠ 𝑎𝑟𝑠 . This situation
can be avoided by using the rule:

When 𝑚 and 𝑛 are positive even integers and 𝑎 is a real number, then
(𝑎𝑚 )1⁄𝑛 = |𝑎|𝑚⁄𝑛

Example
1. ((−4)2 )1⁄4 = |−4|2⁄4 = 41⁄2 = 2
2. (𝑥 1⁄2 + 𝑦 1⁄2 )(𝑥 1⁄2 − 𝑦 1⁄2 )
𝑎 + 𝑎1⁄2 − 𝑎1⁄3
3.
𝑎2⁄3

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5.3 SIMPLIFYING RADICALS

Properties of Radicals
𝑛 𝑛 𝑛 𝑛
√𝑎 𝑛 = 𝑎 √𝑎𝑏 = √𝑎 ∙ √𝑏
𝑛
𝑛 𝑎 √𝑎 𝑛
√𝑏 = 𝑛
√𝑏
√𝑎𝑚 = 𝑎𝑚⁄𝑛

A radical is in simplest form when the following conditions are satisfied:

a. The radicand of a radical of index 𝑛 has no factor which is a perfect 𝑛𝑡ℎ power
b. There must be no fractions under the radical sign.
c. There is no radical in the denominator of a rational expression
d. The radicand is positive
e. The index of the radical is the smallest possible.

Example: Simplify the following.

1. √8√24 4. √−27𝑥 9 𝑦11 𝑧 8
3

3
√81 4
2. 3 5. √25
√3
6
3. √48𝑥 21 𝑦 16 6. √16𝑥 4

5.4 OPERATIONS INVOLVING RADICALS

Rationalizing the denominator in a Radical

To simplify a radical of index 𝑛 containing a fraction in its radicand, or a rational expression with
a radical of index 𝑛 in the denominator, we apply a procedure called rationalizing the
denominator. This is done by performing the multiplication to produce an equivalent expression,
where the radicand in the denominator is a perfect 𝑛𝑡ℎ power of a monomial. Whenever the
denominator is the sum/difference of radicals, we may use the special products
1. (𝑥 − 𝑦)(𝑥 + 𝑦) = 𝑥 2 − 𝑦 2
2. (𝑥 + 𝑦)(𝑥 2 − 𝑥𝑦 + 𝑦 2 ) = 𝑥 3 + 𝑦 3
3. (𝑥 − 𝑦)(𝑥 2 + 𝑥𝑦 + 𝑦 2 ) = 𝑥 3 − 𝑦 3

Example: Simplify.
3 10𝑦 4 16𝑥 4 √3𝑥 + √2𝑥 1
1. √ 3𝑥 2 2. √ 3. 4. 3
3𝑧 √3𝑥 − √2𝑥 2− √2
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Addition and Subtraction of Radicals
Radicals with the same index and radicand can be added or subtracted to produce asingle term.

Example: Simplify.
1. 4√3 − 5√12 + 2√75
2. 5√𝑥 3 − √121𝑥 3 + √16𝑥

Multiplication and Division of Radicals

Multiplication or division of two or more radicals having the same index is done by applying
the rules
𝑛
𝑛 𝑛 𝑛 𝑎 √𝑎
√𝑎 ∙ √𝑏 = √𝑎𝑏 and √𝑏 = .
𝑛
𝑛
√𝑏

If the radicals have different indices, they are first converted into powers with rational
exponents, and the exponents are replaced with fractions of similar denominator. These can
be converted back into radicals with the same index.

Example: Simplify.
3
1. √3𝑥 2 𝑦 ∙ √36𝑥
3

3
2. √𝑥 2 ∙ √4𝑥
√2𝑥√15𝑥
3. √6𝑥 3