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Exercises Numbers, fractions and percents

Example 5.72 from Prealgebra, 5.7 Simplify and Use Square Roots

Simplify and Use Square Roots: example 5.72

Simplify: ⓐ $\sqrt{25} + \sqrt{144}$ ⓑ $\sqrt{25 + 144} .$

Work it out on paper first. Then open the solution one step at a time, and stop as soon as you can finish on your own.

Solution

ⓐ Use the order of operations.

$\sqrt{9} + \sqrt{16}$

Simplify each radical. $5 + 12$

Add. $17$

ⓑ Use the order of operations.

$\sqrt{25 + 144}$

Add under the radical sign. $\sqrt{169}$

Simplify. $13$

Your turn

The book's Try It right after this example: same idea, new numbers. Only the answer is given.

Simplify: ⓐ $\sqrt{9} + \sqrt{16}$ ⓑ $\sqrt{9 + 16} .$

How did it go?

PreviousSimplify and Use Square Roots: example 5.71 Next Simplify and Use Square Roots: example 5.73

From Prealgebra (1st edition) by OpenStax (Rice University), section 5.7, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Original at openstax.org. We split the solution into steps; the words, numbers and figures are the book's. OpenStax doesn't endorse this site.