1-6 Radicals (Day 1) and Rational Exponents (Day 2)

What is a Rational Exponent? There is another way to indicate square (cube, etc) root. For any real b and n > 2, By extension,

Don’t be overwhelmed by fractions! These problems are not hard, as long as you remember what each letter means. Notice I used “p” as the numerator and “r” as the denominator. Hmmmm…. I wonder why….. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Either simplify to smallest base and follow rules of exponents, or write as radicals. Whichever works for you.

Practice problems Simplify each expression

The last part of this topic What is wrong with this number? So, if we do see a radical in the denominator (make sure you know why that IS a radical) what do you have to do?

Rationalizing If you see a single radical in the denominator, multiply top and bottom by a radical that will create a perfect root (under the radical) in the denominator.

Rationalizing If you see 1 or more radicals in a binomial, what can we do?

What is a Conjugate? The conjugate of a + b is a – b. Why? The conjugate will get rid of any radicals and give you a rational number in the denominator.

Rationalizing Multiply top and bottom by the conjugate! Its MAGIC!!