NAME _____________________________________________ DATE ____________________________ PERIOD _____________

6-4 Study Guide and Intervention

nth Roots
Simplify Radicals
2
Square Root For any real numbers a and b, if a = b, then a is a square root of b.
n
nth Root For any real numbers a and b, and any positive integer n, if a = b, then a is an nth root of b.
Real nth Roots of b, 1. If n is even and b > 0, then b has one positive real root and one real negative root.
𝒏 𝒏
√𝒃, – √𝒃 2. If n is odd and b > 0, then b has one positive real root.
3. If n is even and b < 0, then b has no real roots.
4. If n is odd and b < 0, then b has one negative real root.

Example 1: Simplify √𝟒𝟗𝒛𝟖. Example 2: Simplify – 𝟑√(𝟐𝒂 − 𝟏)𝟔

3 3
√49𝑧 8 = √(7𝑧 4 )2 = 7𝑧 4 – √(2𝑎 − 1)6 = − √[(2𝑎 − 1)2 ]3 = – (2𝑎 − 1)2
𝑧 4 must be positive, so there is no need to take the
absolute value.

Exercises
Simplify.
𝟑
1.√81 2.√−343 3. √144𝑝6
9 –7 12|p3|
5 3
4.±√4𝑎10 5.√243𝑝10 6. – √𝑚6 𝑛9
± 2a5 3p2 –m2n3
3
7.√−𝑏12 8.√16𝑎10 𝑏8 9. √121𝑥 6
4 5 4
–b 4|a |b 11|x3|
3
10.√(4𝑘)4 11. ±√169𝑟 4 12. – √−27𝑝6
16k2 ±13r2 3p2
13. – √625𝑦 2 𝑧 4 14. √36𝑞34 15. √100𝑥 2 𝑦 4 𝑧 6
–25|y |z2 6|q17| 10|x|y2 |z3 |
3
16.√−0.027 17. – √−0.36 18. √0.64𝑝10
–0.3 not a real number 0.8|p5|
4 3
19. √(2𝑥)8 20. √(11𝑦 2 )4 21. √(5𝑎2 𝑏)6
4x2 121y4 25a4b2
3
22. √(3𝑥 − 1)2 23. √(𝑚 − 5)6 24. √36𝑥 2 − 12𝑥 + 1
|3x – 1| (m – 5)2 |6x – 1|

Chapter 6 25 Glencoe Algebra 2

NAME _____________________________________________ DATE ____________________________ PERIOD _____________

6-4 Study Guide and Intervention (continued)

nth Roots
Approximate Radicals with a Calculator

Irrational Number a number that cannot be expressed as a terminating or a repeating decimal

Radicals such as √2 and √3 are examples of irrational numbers. Decimal approximations for irrational numbers are often
used in applications. These approximations can be easily found with a calculator.

Example: Use a calculator to approximate 𝟓√𝟏𝟖. 𝟐 to three decimal places.

5
√18.2 ≈ 1.787

Exercises
Use a calculator to approximate each value to three decimal places.
3
1. √62 2. √1050 3. √0.054
7.874 32.404 0.378
4
4. – √5.45 5. √5280 6. √18,600
–1.528 72.664 136.382
3 5
7. √0.095 8. √−15 9. √100
0.308 –2.466 2.512
6
10. √856 11. √3200 12. √0.05
3.081 56.569 0.224
4
13. √12,500 14. √0.60 15. – √500
111.803 0.775 –4.729
3 6
16. √0.15 17. √4200 18. √75
0.531 4.017 8.660

19. LAW ENFORCEMENT The formula r = 2 √5𝐿 is used by police to estimate the speed r in miles per hour of a car
if the length L of the car’s skid mark is measured in feet. Estimate to the nearest tenth of a mile per hour the speed of
a car that leaves a skid mark 300 feet long. 77.5 mi/h

20. SPACE TRAVEL The distance to the horizon d miles from a satellite orbiting h miles above Earth can be
approximated by d = √8000ℎ + ℎ2 . What is the distance to the horizon if a satellite is orbiting 150 miles above
Earth? about 1100 mi

Chapter 6 26 Glencoe Algebra 2