Expert: Sherman D. - 1/21/2005

Question
I'm unsure how to solve these problems. They are complex numbers that are supposed to be written simplified.

1.squareroot (-9) - i^2

2.Squareroot(-2)[squareroot(-3) - squareroot(-2)]

Answer
1.)
sqrt(-9) - i^2
i = sqrt(-1) so when you square a sqrt, the sqrt and the square cancels out, leaving you with the -1

sqrt(-9) = sqrt(-1 * 9) = i * 3 = 3i
i^2 = -1

3i - 1

-----------------------------------------------------------

2.)
sqrt(-2)*(sqrt(-3) - sqrt(-2))

to make this easier. since the -3 and the -2 both have sqrt, you can treat them like this

sqrt(-2 * -3) - sqrt(-2 * -2)
sqrt(6) - sqrt(4)
sqrt(6) - 2