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We have seen how to use the Order of Operations to simplify some expressions with radicals. To simplify we must simplify each square root separately first, then add to get the sum of 17.
The expression cannot be simplified—to begin we’d need to simplify each square root, but neither 17 nor 7 contains a perfect square factor.
In the next example, we have the sum of an integer and a square root. We simplify the square root but cannot add the resulting expression to the integer.
Simplify: .
The terms are not like and so we cannot add them. Trying to add an integer and a radical is like trying to add an integer and a variable—they are not like terms!
The next example includes a fraction with a radical in the numerator. Remember that in order to simplify a fraction you need a common factor in the numerator and denominator.
Whenever you have to simplify a square root, the first step you should take is to determine whether the radicand is a perfect square. A perfect square fraction is a fraction in which both the numerator and the denominator are perfect squares.
If the numerator and denominator have any common factors, remove them. You may find a perfect square fraction!
In the last example, our first step was to simplify the fraction under the radical by removing common factors. In the next example we will use the Quotient Property to simplify under the radical. We divide the like bases by subtracting their exponents, .
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