(Effective Alternative Secondary Education)

MATHEMATICS II
Y

MODULE 6
Radical Expressions

BUREAU OF SECONDARY EDUCATION

Department of Education
DepEd Complex, Meralco Avenue, Pasig City

Module 6
 Radical
Expressions

What this module is all about

This module is all about radical equations and verbal problems involving
radicals. It is assumed that you are already good in solving linear and quadratic
equations since knowledge of these will help you a lot in this module.

What are you expected to learn

This module is made for you to:

1. solve radical equations; and

2. solve problems involving radical equations.

How much do you know

A. Solve the following radical equations:

1. x =5
2. x4 = 11
17
3. x =-
3
4. 6 – 2 3 x = 0
5. 4x  5 = x  9
6. x  7 = x – 5
7. x 2  5 – x + 2 = 0
8. 3x  1 = 1 - x  4

B. Read the following word problems and solve what is asked for:

9. The square root of the sum of a certain number and 8 is 13. find the
number.
10. The square root of the sum of 2 consecutive odd integers is 1 less than
3 times the smaller integer. Find the integers.
What you will do

2
 Lesson 1

Radical Equations

The following are examples of radical equations:

2x –4=7 x 1 = 2x  5

A radical equation is an equation that has variables in one or more

radicands.

To solve radical equations, one must first get rid of the radicand in the
equation. This can be done by squaring both sides of the equation using the
property:

The Squaring Property of Equality

If a = b, then a² = b²

To understand the property, study the examples below.

Example 1. Solve: x =6

Solution: Since the unknown variable is inside the square root symbol,
then apply the squaring property. So that:

x =6
( x ) = (6)2
2

x = 36

Check: x =6
36 = 6
6=6

The solution checks.

Example 2. Solve the equation: x2 =3

Solution: Because the equation contains a radical, square both sides to

eliminate it. Then proceed as follows:
x2 =3
( x  2 )² = 3² square both sides
x+2=9 simplify

3
 x=7

Check: x2 =3
72 =3 substitute x by 7
9 =3
3=3

The solution checks.

Note that from the previous examples the squaring property is easily used
since the radicals are isolated on one side of the equation.

Now, what happens if both sides of the equation contain radicals as in the
next example?

Example 3. Solve 3x  2 = x  10

Solution: In this example the radicals on both sides of the equation may
be eliminated by using the squaring property right away!

( 3 x  2 )2 =
( x  10 )² square both sides
3x + 2 = x + 10 simplify
2x = 10 –2
2x = 8
8
x=
2
x=4

Check : 3x  2= x  10
= 4  10
3( 4)  2 substitute x by 4
12  2 = 14
14 = 14

The solution checks.

From the three examples, you can say that it’s easy to solve radical
equations. Notice how the equations are simplified by squaring both sides when
the radicals containing the unknown is isolated on one side of the equation as in
Examples 1 and 2. Also, when the radicals are on both sides of the equation as
in Example 3.

Example 4. Solve the equation: x 1 -5=3

Solution: Notice that the left-hand side consists of two terms, the first
being a radical, x  1 and the second, a constant, -5. We

4
 cannot square both sides applied right away. You must
rearrange the terms first to isolate the radical on one side of the
equation. So that,

x 1-5=3
x 1 = 3 + 5
x 1 = 8 square both sides
( x  1 )2 = 8 2
x + 1 = 64
x = 64 – 1
x = 63

Check: x 1 -5=3
63  1 - 5 ? 3
64 - 5 ? 3
8–5?3
3=3

The solution checks.

Example 5. Solve the equation: x 1 +5=3

Solution: Rearrange the terms first to isolate the radical on one side of the
equation. So that,

x 1 +5=3
x 1 =3-5
x  1 = -2

You may already stop here. Notice that the left- hand side, x  1 will
never be negative. Whereas, the right- hand side is negative. This makes the
equation

x 1 = -2 not true

But, just then, suppose this step is missed?

Let’s continue the solution:

( x  1 )²
= (-2)² square both sides
x+1=4 simplify
x=3

Check: x 1+5=3
31 + 5 = 3
4 +5=3

5
 4 +5=3
2+5=3
7≠3

Because 7 = 3 is a false result, 3 is not a solution! So that the original

equation has no solution. Truly the equation, as you’ve seen above, has no
solution.

Example 5 illustrates that squaring both sides of an equation can lead to

solutions, called extraneous solutions. These kind of solutions do not satisfy
the original equation. This is because the squaring property may not produce
equivalent equations. When both sides of an equation are squared, the new
equation may have solutions that the first one does not have.

For example, the equation

x=1 (1)

has just one solution, 1. Squaring both sides, you will get

x² = 1 (2)

which has two solutions, 1 and –1. Thus, the equation x = 1 and x² = 1 do not
have the same solutions and so are not equivalent. Whereas, it is true that any
solution of equation (1) is a solution of equation (2), it is not true that any solution
of equation (2) is a solution of equation (1). So that, it is important that you check
the solutions.

There are times when a quadratic equation results in using the squaring
property in a certain radical equation as will be seen in the next example.

Example 6. Solve: x–5= x7

Solution: x- 5 = x  7
(x – 5)² = ( x  7 )² use the squaring property
x² - 10x + 25 = x + 7 expand or simplify
x² - 11x + 18 = 0
(x – 9) (x - 2) = 0 factor
x - 9 = 0 or x - 2 = 0 use the zero product property
x=9 x=2

Check: if x = 9 x–5= x7

9 – 5 = 97
4 = 16
4=4
if x = 2 x-5= x7

6
 2 - 5 = 27
-3 = 9
-3 ≠ 3

9 is the solution, not 2.

The next examples involve finding the square of a binomial on the other
side of the equation.

Example 7. Solve: 3x  4 =8–x

Solution: 3x  4 = 8 – x
( 3 x  4 )2 = (8 – x)2 square both sides
3x + 4 = 64 – 16x + x 2 the right-hand side is the result of
squaring the binomial (8 – x)2
0 = 64 – 4 - 3x – 16x + x2 combine similar terms
0 = 60 – 19x + x2
0 = (x – 15)(x – 4) factor
x – 15 =0 or x – 4 = 0
x = 15 or x=4

Check: if x = 15 3x  4 = 8 – x
3(15)  4 ? 8 – 15
? -7
49
7 ≠ -7
If x = 4 3x  4 = 8 – x
3( 4)  4 ? 8 – 4
16 ? 4
4=4

The solution is 4.

Example 8. Solve: 3+ 27  3 x =x

Solution: The squaring property cannot be used right away since the
radical is not yet isolated, so that

3+ 27  3 x =x
27  3 x = x – 3 subtract 3 to isolate the radical
( 27  3x )² = (x – 3)² square both sides
27 – 3x = x² - 6x + 9 expand or simplify
0 = x² - 6x + 9 + 3x – 27 combine similar terms
0 = x² - 3x – 18
0 = (x – 6)(x + 3) factor
x – 6 = 0 or x + 3 = 0 use the zero product property
x=6 x = -3

7
 Check: if x = 6 3+ 27  3 x=x
3+ 27  3(6) ?6
3+ 27  18 ? 6
3+ 9?6
3+3?6
6=6

if x = -3 3 + 27  3x = x
3 + 27  3( 3) ? -3
3 + 27  9 ? -3

3 + 36 ? -3
3 + 6 ? -3
9 ≠ -3

Clearly, 6 and –3 is an extraneous solution that should be discarded.

Suppose in Example 8, the squaring property is applied without isolating

the radical:
(3 + 27  3x )² = x²
9 + 2(3) 27  3x + ( 27  3x )² = x²
9 + 6 27  3x + (27 - 3x) = x²
6 27  3x = -9 – 27 + 3x + x2
6 27  3x = x2 + 3x – 36

Presto! What has resulted is a more complicated expression than the original
equation.

Remark: When a radical equation requires squaring a binomial on one side of

the equation, be careful not to square only the binomial in the product
but also the middle term which is twice the product of the first and last
terms of the binomial.

Now, there are times when the squaring property has to be applied more
than once, as you will see in the next example.

Example 9. Solve: x -1= x5

Solution: In this one, there is no way to isolate the radical since there is a
radical on both sides of the equation. Thus,

x - 1 = x5
( x - 1)² = ( x  5 )² square both sides
( x )² - 2 x + 1 = x – 5 expand and simplify
x–2 x +1=x–5 simplify

8
 -2 = -6
x isolate the radical
x =3
( x )² = 3² square both sides
x=9

Check: x -1= x5

9 - 1 ? 95
3 -1 ? 4
2=2

The solution 9 checks.

The examples above all follow the steps identified below:

Steps in solving radical equations:

1. Whenever possible, rearrange the terms to isolate a single

radical on one side of the equation
2. Square both sides of the equation.
3. If a radical term remains, do steps 1 and 2 again. Solve for the
unknown.
4. Check the solution in the original equation. This step is required.

Try this out

A. Check to see if the given value for x is a solution of the equation.

1. 3 x  18 =x a. 6 b. -3
2. 2x  3 = 0 a. 3 b. -1
3. 3
3x  4 = 3 2 x  1 a. -3/5 b. -5

4. Is 16 a solution of the equation x = -4? If not, what is the solution of

this equation?

5. What is wrong with the first step in the process?

2x  3 = x–2
2x – 3 = x2 + 4

B. Solve each equation. Check all solutions.

1. x =7 21. 2 x  10 +3=5
2. x = -9 22. 9 x  25 -2=3
3. x = -1 23. 7  5x + 4 = 3
4. x = 3/2 24. 7  6 x - 4 = -3

9
 5. x 3= 2 25. 3x  3 = 3 x 1
6. x2=3 26. 2 3x  4 = 5 x  9
7. x5= 5 27. 3 x  6 = 2 2 x  11
8. x  8 = 12 28. 10  3 x = 2 x  20
9. 3  x = -2 29. 2 4x  5 = 5 x  4
10. 5  x = 10 30. 2 9 x  16 = 3x  64
11. 6  2x = 4 31. x 1= x - 1
12. 7  3 x = -4 32. x 1 = x + 1
13. 5x  5 = 5 33. x - 1 = x 1
14. 6 x  19 = 7 34. x4=x-2
15. 4x  3 = 3 35. x9=x +7
16. 11x  2 = 3 36. x – 2 = x  10
17. 13 x  14 = 1 37. 7 x  2 - 2x = 0
18. 8x  9 = 1 38. x = 3 x + 3
19. x  3 + 5 = 12 39. 3x  3 + 5 = x
20. 5x  9 + 4 = 7 40. x= x4+4

Lesson 2

Solving Radical Equations Whose Indices Are Greater Than 2

(An Extension Lesson)

By this time, you must be wondering as to how to solve 3

x  3 = 2.

As you will see in the example below, solving radical equations where the
index is greater than 2 is also like solving radical equations whose index is 2. The
difference is in the squaring property. The squaring property can actually be
extended to numbers greater than 2. That is,

Generally:
If a = b then an = bn
where n is a positive integer

This property is called the Power Rule.

Illustrations:

a. ( 3 x )³ = 5³ b. ( 5 x )5 = 2
x = 125 x = 32

Notice that when the index is 3, as in (a), both sides of the equation is
raised to 3 so that the radical ( 3 x )³ is simplified to x. The same is true when the
index is 5, as in (b). Both sides of the equation is raised to 5 so that the radical (
5
x )5 is simplified to x.

10
 Following the observations above, you must have generalized that if the
index of a given radical equation is n, you can raise both sides of the equation by
n, so that the radical is eliminated and what is left is the radicand.

Example 1: Solve: 3
x3 =2

Solution: Since the radical is already isolated, you may right away
apply the property illustrated above. Thus,

3
x3 =2
( x  3 )3 = (2)3
3
raise both sides of the equation by 3
to eliminate the radical
x+3=8
x=8–3 solve for x
x=5

Check: 3
x3 =2
3
53 = 2
3
8 =2
2=2

Remarks: Like the squaring property, you need to check whether the solutions
arrived at are solutions of the equation when the power rule is
applied.

Example 2. Solve the equation: 4

x8 = 4
3x

Solution: 4
x8 = 4
3x
( x  8 ) = ( 4 3x )4
4 4
raise both sides of the equation by 4
x + 8 = 3x solve for x
8 = 3x - x
8 = 2x
8/2 = 2x/2
4 = x or
x=4

Check: 4
x8 = 4
3x
4
48 ? 4 3( 4)
4
12 = 4
12

Now you can practically solve all types of radical equations! Just follow the
steps generalized below:

11
 Steps in Solving Radical Equations

1. Isolate the radical.

2. Raise both side of the equation by a power equal to the index of the
radical.

3. Solve the equation. If there is still a radical on either sides of the

equation repeat 1 and 2.

4. Check the solutions obtained.

Try this out

Solve the following equations

1. 4 x  7 = 4 2x
2. 3 5m  1 = 3 3m  2
3. 3 2 x 2  3 x  7 = 3 2 x 2  4 x  6
4. 3 2 x  3 + 1 = 0
5. 0 = 3 11  2 x - 3  1  5 x
6. 4 x  1 + 2 = 0

Lesson 3

Solving Word Problems Involving Radical Equations

You are now ready to solve word problems involving radical equations. But
before that, you need to review the 5 steps for problem solving.

Steps in Problem Solving

1. Familiarize. Read and understand the problem. Identify what is needed to

solve the problem.
2. Translate. Write the equation.
3. Solve. Solve the equation.
4. Check. Check the solutions obtained.
5. State. Finalize your answer.

12
Study the following examples:

Example 1. The square root of the sum of a certain number and 12 is 15. Find
the number.

Familiarize: Make a guess. If the number is 1, then the sum of 1 and 12

is 13. The square root of the sum, 13 is not 15. If you
guess and guess, it might take a lot of time. So you better
use your algebra to solve this problem.

Let x be the certain number. Then x + 12 = the sum of a

certain number and 12.

Translate: The square root of the sum of a certain number and 12 = 15

x  12 = 15

Solve: x  12 = 15
( x  12 )² = (15) ² use the squaring property
x + 12 = 225 subtract 12 on both sides
x = 225 – 12
x = 213

Check: x  12= 15
213  12 ? 15
225 ? 15
15 = 15

State: The number is 213.

Example 2. Three times the square root of 2 greater than a number is equal to
the square root of 4 more than 11 times that number. Find the
number.

Familiarize. Make a guess to help you understand the problem and ease
the translation. Try 5. Three times the square root of 2
greater than 5 is 3( 5  2 ) = 3 7 . While, the square root of
4 more than 11 times 5 is 11(5)  4 = 59 . 3 7 is not
equal to 59 , so 5 is not the number. Then, you have to use
your algebraic skills.

Let x = the number.

Translate. Three times the square root of 2 greater than a number

13
 3∙ x  2
is equal to
=
the square root of 4 more than 11 times that number.

11 x  4
Solve.
3 x2= 11 x  4
(3 x  2 )2
= ( 11x  4 )2 use the squaring property
9(x + 2) = 4 + 11x
9x + 18 = 4 + 11x use the distributive property on the left
9x – 11x = 4 – 18 isolate similar terms
-2x = -14 divide both sides by -2
x=7
Check:

3 times the square root of 2 greater than 7 is 3( 72 )=3 9

= 3(3)= 9, and

the square root of 4 more than 11 times 7 is 4  11(7) = 81

= 9.

State:
The number is 7.

As it has been seen, knowledge of solving equations involving radicals

helps in solving some number problems.

There are a lot of real life formulas that involve radicals as will be seen in
the next examples. It will of course be an advantage if one knows how to solve
radical equations.

Example 3. The formula V = 3.5 h is used to approximate how far V, in km, a

person can see to the horizon from a given height, h, in meters.
How far can you see to the horizon through an airplane window at a
height of 9000 m?

Familiarize: This problem can be solved right away by just merely

substituting in the given formula. CAUTION: V is in
kilometers while h is in meters.

Translate and solve:

V= 3.5 h
= 3.5 9000

14
 = 3.5 900(10)
= 3.5(30) 10
= 105 10 km

State: You can see about 105 10 km at a height of 9000 m.

Example 4. A person can see 28 km to the horizon from the top of a building.
How high is the building?

Translate and solve:

Substitute 28 for V in the formula V = 3.5 h and solve for h:

V = 3.5 h
28 3.5 h
=
3.5 3.5
(4)² = ( h )²
16 = h

State: The building is approximately 16m high.

Example 5. Einstein’s Theory of Relativity predicts that an object moving at

speed v will be shortened in the direction of its motion by a factor f
given by
v2
f = 1
c2
where c is the speed of light. Solve this equation for v2.

Familiarize. The problem actually asks to solve for the equation where v2
is the one to be left alone on the left-hand side of the
equation with all other variables at the right-
hand side of the equation.

v2
Translate and solve:f = 1 
c2
2
 v2 
(f) =  1  2 
2
square both sides
 c 
v2
f2 = 1 -
c2
v2 v2
= 1 – f2 add and subtract f2 to
c2 c2
both sides of the equation

15
  v2 
c2   2 2
2  = (1 – f )c multiply both sides by c2
c 
v2 = c2 – f2c2

State. The required equation is v2 = c2 – f2c2.

Try this out

Solve the following. Show your solutions:

A.
1. Five times the square root of 1 less than a number is equal to 3 more than
the number. Find the number.
2. What numbers are equal to their own square roots
3. The sum of a number and its square root is equal to 0. Find the number.
4. Find the number such that twice its square root is 14.
5. Find the number such that the square root of four more than five times the
number is 8.
6. The square root of 5 less than a certain number is 0. Find the number.
7. The square root of 4 more than a number is equal to 2 less than the
number. Find the number.
8. The square root of 7 more than a number is the square root of 14. Find the
number.
9. Can the difference of 4 and the principal square root of a number ever
equal 0? Why?
10. The square root of twice a number is equal to the square root of 18 more
than the number. Find the number.

B.
Use V = 3.5 h for Exercises 1-7.

1. How far can you see to the horizon through an airplane window at a height
of 8,000m?
2. How far can a sailor see to the horizon from the top of a 20m mast?
3. A sailor can see 91km to the horizon from the top of a mast. How high is
the mast?
4. How far can you see on the horizon through an airplane window at a
height of 9800m?
5. How far can a sailor see from a top of a 24-m mast?
6. A person can see 371 km to the horizon from a airplane window. How high
is the air plane?
7. A sailor can see 99.4 km to the horizon from the top of a mast. How high is
the mast?

16
 The formula r = 2 5 L can be used to approximate the speed r, in miles per
hour, of a car that has left a skid mark of L, in feet.

8. How far will a car skid at 50 mph? at 70 mph?

9. How far will a car skid at 60 mph? at 100 mph?

C.
1. The fall speed of a vehicle running off the road into a ditch is given by

2.74 D
S=
h

where D is the horizontal distance traveled from the level surface to the
bottom of the ditch and h is the height (or depth) of the ditch. What
is the fall speed of a vehicle that traveled 32ft horizontally into a 5-
foot deep ditch?

2. Carpenters stabilize wall frames with a diagonal brace as shown in the

figure. The length of the brace is given by L = H 2  W 2 . If the bottom of
the brace is attached 9ft from the corner and the brace is 12ft long, how
far up the corner post should it be nailed?

L
H

Let’s summarize
1. A radical equation is an equation in which the variable is under a radical
sign.

2. The squaring property of equality: if a = b then a² = b²

3. The squaring property is used to eliminate the square root symbol so that
what is left is an ordinary equation.

17
4. In general, raise both sides of the equation by a power equal to the index
of the radical to get rid of the radical.

5. Knowledge of solving radical equations helps one in solving number

problems and other applications that involve radicals.

What have you learned

A. Solve the following

1. x =4
2. x3 = 20
3. 4 + y 3 = 11
4. x = -7
5. 5x  7 = x  10

6. x – 7 = x5

7. x2  6 –x+3=0
8. x9 =1+ x

9. The square root of 3 less than a certain number is 5. Find the number.
10. The square root of the sum if 2 consecutive integers is 1 less than the
smaller integer. Find the smallest integer.

18
 Answer key

How much do you know

1. 25 6. 2, 9
2. 117 7. -1/4
3. no solution 8. no solution
4. 3 9. 161
5. 14/3 10. no solution

Try this out

Lesson 1

A. 1. a. yes b. no
2. a. no b. no
3. a. no b. yes
4. No, no solution exists
5.
1. No
49 x2 + 4
middle term. The expression21. -3should be
2
x – 4x + 4
2. No solution 22. 0
B. 3. No solution 23. No solution
4. 9/4 24. -1
5. 1 25. 2
6. 11 26. -1
7. 30 27. 10
8. 136 28. -2
9. No solution 29. No solution
10. -95 30. 0
11. 5 31. 3
12. No solution 32. -1 or 0
13. 6 33. 1, 2
14. 5 34. 5
15. 3 35. -5
16. 1 36. 6
17. -1 37. 2
18. -1 19 38. 3
19. 46 39. 11
20. 0 40. 4, 5
Lesson 2

1. 7
2. -1/2
3. -13
4. -2
5. -4
6. no solution

Lesson 3

A. B. C.
1. 313 km 1. 39.2 mph
1. 2 and 17 2. 15. 65 km 2. 3 7 ft
2. 0and 1 3. 676 m
3. 0 4. 346.5 km
4. 49 5. 17 km
5. 12 6. 11,236 m
6. 5 7. 806.6 m
7. 5 8. 125 ft; 245 ft
8. 7 9. 180 ft; 500 ft
9. Yes. 4 - 16 =0
10. 18

What have you learned

1. 16
2. 397
3. 52
4. no solution
5. 17/4
6. 9
7. 1/2
8. 16
9. 28
10. 4

20