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How to Solve Radicals With Fractions

A radical is a mathematical symbol that looks much like a check mark. The number under the radical sign is called the "radicand," and the number to the upper left of the sign is the "index." When you see a radical symbol, it means that you must find a "root" of the radicand. If the radical sign involves a fraction, there are certain rules that you must follow in order to solve the problem. This is a common type of problem in a high school or college algebra course.

Instructions

    • 1

      Multiply the numerator (top) and denominator (bottom) of the fraction by the denominator if the denominator contains a radical sign. For example, if you have 4/√5, you would multiply the top and bottom of the fraction by √5 to get 4√5/5. Multiplying the radical times itself in the denominator leaves you with just the radicand and no radical sign.

    • 2

      Simplify the fraction if the entire fraction is covered by the radical sign, or the numerator and denominator each have a radical sign. For example, √20/√5 = √4, which equals 2.

    • 3

      Extract any perfect squares or cubes (or greater) if present with a radical in a fraction. For example, if you have √64/11, you would extract 8 since 8 times 8 equals 64. This would give you an answer of 8/11. Another example would be ^3√8/5. The cube root of 8 is 2, so the answer would be 2/5.

    • 4

      Simplify fractional parts outside of the radical sign if necessary. For example, if you have 12√2/√9, you would first rewrite the fraction as 12√2/3. Then 3 divides into 12 four times leaving you with 4√2.

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