Tell me more ×
Mathematics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for people studying math at any level and professionals in related fields. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 0 down vote favorite

Say I have the square root of 2/9. How would I convert this to a mixed radical where the radicand is a whole number?

I can convert the square root of 8 to a mixed radical easily (2 sqrt 2) but this fraction is tripping me up.

share|improve this question
Do you have ((the square root of 2) over 8), or (the square root of (2 over 8))? Can you be more specific about the form you want to convert to? – aschepler Oct 3 '10 at 22:30
I have the square root of (2 over 8), where 2 over 8 is a fraction. I want to convert it into a mixed radical where the radicand is a whole number. – DMan Oct 3 '10 at 22:31
@number 11: If you accept a rational number factor, you have infinitely many. For instance $\sqrt{\dfrac{2}{8}}=\dfrac{1}{2}=\dfrac{1}{2}\sqrt{1}=\dfrac{1}{4}\sqrt{2}=\ldo‌​ts $ – Américo Tavares Oct 3 '10 at 22:50
@Américo Tavares- I made a correction (2/9 as opposed to 2/8). My mistake, sorry. – DMan Oct 3 '10 at 22:52
1  
@number 11: The situation is similar: $\sqrt{\dfrac{2}{9}}=\dfrac{1}{3}\sqrt{2}=\dfrac{1}{6}\sqrt{8}=\ldots $ – Américo Tavares Oct 3 '10 at 22:56
show 3 more comments

2 Answers

up vote 1 down vote accepted

$\sqrt{\frac{2}{9}} = \frac{\sqrt{2}}{\sqrt{9}} = \frac{\sqrt{2}}{3}$

Is this what you wanted?

share|improve this answer
What I wanted is 1/3 sqrt 2, a mixed radical with a whole radicand. – DMan Oct 4 '10 at 2:11
@DMan: Your respones are quite confusing... You're aware that $(1/3)\sqrt{2}$ is the same thing as $\sqrt{2}/3$, right? – Hans Lundmark Oct 4 '10 at 6:10
@Hans- Oops, you are right, thanks. – DMan Oct 4 '10 at 22:08
up vote 1 down vote

What do you mean by the radicand is a "whole number"? In your example $\sqrt{8}=2\sqrt{2}$ in both sides of the equation the radicand is a whole number.

In any case, it doesn't really matter because the problem as you stated it doesn't have a radical at all when you simplify: $\sqrt{\frac{2}{8}}=\sqrt{\frac{1}{4}}=\frac{\sqrt{1}}{\sqrt{4}}=\frac{1}{2}$.

share|improve this answer
Maybe I'm wrong, but I assumed the first 2 is called the index, and the second was the radicand. Also, sorry for the mistake, I wanted 2/9 as opposed to 2/8. – DMan Oct 3 '10 at 22:51

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.