Rationalizing the Denominator
Rationalize the denominator:
Solution
To eliminate the square root, we can multiply by the conjugate
of

We multiply
by 1 written in
the form
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Multiply the numerators and multiply
the denominators. |
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In the numerator, use the Distributive
Property. |
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In the denominator, use the FOIL method. |
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In the denominator, combine like terms.
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We normally do not leave a negative
number in the denominator. Therefore,
multiply by 1 in the form
|
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Multiply the numerators and multiply
the denominators. |
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