Adding, subtracting and multiplying radical terms; properties of real-number operations
Radical terms behave like algebra terms. 4√3 and √3 are like radicals (same radicand 3), so you add the coefficients: 4√3 + √3 = 5√3 and −4√3 + √3 = −3√3. √2 and √5 are not like, so √2 + √5 cannot be combined, and √2 + √3 is certainly not √5. To multiply, remember (√a)² = a, so √3 × √3 = 3 and −4√3 × √3 = −4 × 3 = −12. The usual properties of real numbers still hold: addition and multiplication are commutative and associative, 0 and 1 are the identities, and multiplication distributes over addition. They let you open brackets with roots: (√7 − 1)(2√7 + 3) = 14 + 3√7 − 2√7 − 3 = 11 + √7.
| Rule | Example |
|---|---|
| add like radicals | 4√3 + √3 = 5√3 |
| unlike radicals stay apart | √2 + √5 |
| a root times itself | (√3)² = 3 |
| open brackets | (√5 + 1)(√5 − 1) = 4 |
Check with a calculator. Is √2 + √3 equal to √5? Find the decimals of both sides. Then check that 4√3 + √3 and 5√3 have the same decimal value. What do you notice?