Key learning points

1. The square root operation is equivalent to the exponent 0.5 where the base is the term under the square root.
2. You can deduce this as squaring and square rooting are inverse operations.
3. Since the exponents for each term are the same, they can be combined.

Keywords

• Surd - A surd is an irrational number expressed as the root of a rational number.

• Radical - The root sign is the radical symbol.

• Radicand - The radicand is the value inside the radical symbol.

Common misconception