Understanding Surds
This page introduces the concept of surds in mathematics. Surds are irrational roots that cannot be expressed as simple fractions. The page covers methods for simplifying, multiplying, and dividing surds, as well as techniques for adding and subtracting them.
Definition: A surd is an irrational root that cannot be written as an integer or fraction.
Example: √2 = 1.414235... is a surd because it cannot be expressed as a simple fraction.
The page provides several examples of how to simplify surds, including:
- Simplifying √72 to 6√2
- Multiplying surds like √5 x √15
- Adding and subtracting surds such as √2 + 2√27
Highlight: Simplifying surds makes them easier to handle in mathematical operations.
The page also covers the process of rationalizing denominators, which involves eliminating surds from the bottom of fractions. This technique is crucial for simplifying complex expressions involving surds.
Vocabulary: Rationalizing the denominator refers to the process of removing surds from the denominator of a fraction.