Solve perfect squares in a radical expression by simply extracting the square root. If the expression is a simple one, such as √4 or √25, solve it just by remembering what number times itself equals those radicands. In this case, √4 equals 2, and √25 equals 5. If the number is larger, you may want to press the radical symbol on your calculator or use an online square root calculator.
Simplify a radical expression by extracting its factors and looking for square roots. For example, if consider the expression √72. You can restate √72 as √36 * √2. Since 36 is a perfect square, extract 6 from this part of the equation. Therefore, your answer would be 6√2.
Solve a fractional radical expression with a square root in the denominator by multiplying the numerator and denominator by the square root itself. For example, consider the expression x/√y. Multiply the top and bottom of the fraction by √y. When you multiply two square roots, your answer is the radicand without the radical sign. In this case, √y * √y equals y. Therefore, your answer would be x√y/y.