Expert: Scott A Wilson - 9/14/2009

Question
Hi Mr. Wilson,

I seem to have hit a speed bump in algebra. It involves square roots.

Its states to simplify

1. sqrt 100y^2
2. sqrt 9a^4
3.  5/2 + sqrt15

Please I would be grateful for any help.
Thank you for your time

Answer
The square root of a*a is a.  The square root is also sqrt or √.

It is good to know that 1²=1, 2²=4, 3²=9, 4²=16, 5²=25, 6²36, 7²=49, 8²=64, 9²=81, and 10²=100.
It might also be good to know that 11²=121 and 12²=144.

1. √(100y²) = √(10*10*y*y) = 10y.

2. sqrt(9a^4) = √(3*3*a²*a²) = 3a².

3. 5/2 + √15 - there's not much that can be done.
Either 2.5 + √15 or (5 + 2√15)/2.

If that was suppose to be sqrt(16), √16 = √(4*4) = 4.
5/2 + 4 = 2.5 + 4 = 6.5.