Introduction to Simplifying and Using Square Roots
In Mr. Fraser's physics class, the students are doing a messy experiment: They're dropping eggs off the roof of the science building to see how long it takes them to reach the ground. (To minimize cleanup, they've placed tarps down in advance.) Before they conduct the experiment, Mr. Fraser asks the students to list the factors that they think will affect the experiment. Most students think the egg's weight will partially determine how long it takes to hit the ground. But Mr. Fraser proposes that there's actually a simple formula they can use to figure out how long it will take the eggs to reach the ground: the square root of the height the egg is dropped from, divided by [latex]4[/latex]. To find out whether Mr. Fraser is telling the truth, the students will need to simplify expressions with square roots. Read on to find out how to do that.Learning Outcomes
By the end of this section, you will be able to:- Simplify expressions with square roots
- Estimate square roots
- Approximate square roots
- Simplify variable expressions with square roots
- Use square roots in applications
readiness quiz
Before you get started, take this readiness quiz.- Simplify: [latex]{\left(-9\right)}^{2}[/latex].If you missed this problem, review [link].
- Round [latex]3.846[/latex] to the nearest hundredth.If you missed this problem, review [link].
- Evaluate [latex]12d[/latex] for [latex]d=80[/latex].If you missed this problem, review [link].
Licenses & Attributions
CC licensed content, Shared previously
- Egg. Authored by: Lisa Williams. Located at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pixellou/5923327290/. License: CC BY: Attribution.
CC licensed content, Specific attribution
- Prealgebra. Provided by: OpenStax License: CC BY: Attribution. License terms: Download for free at http://cnx.org/contents/[email protected].