1. Cube Roots a is a cube root of b if and only if Example 1 2 is a cube root of 8, since - 2 is a cube root of - 8, since

2. Note a key difference between square roots and cube roots: Square Root The number 9 has two square roots, -3 and 3. Cube Root The number 8 has one cube root, 2.

3. Recall that when using radical notation, the square root is equal to the principal (nonnegative) square root. Also, when simplifying a square root, it was sometimes necessary to use an absolute value sign. The cube root is much simpler, and is defined as:

4. Example 2 Evaluation Reasoning

5. Example 3 Simplify

6. Example 4 Simplify First write the radicand as a quantity cubed.