Radicals With Like Terms Recall that you can add two expressions if they are like terms. Example 1 This process is based on the distributive property, which was shown in the second step.
In the same way we add two radical expressions if they are like terms. Example 2 These terms were like since both radicals had the same index (2 in this case), and the same radicand. You are encouraged to leave out the middle step.
Example 3 Simplify: Note that all three radicals have the same index … … and the same radicand. Add and subtract the coefficients to get …
Sometimes it is necessary to simplify the radicals first in order to create like terms. Example 4 Simplify:
Like Terms
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