Operations on Real Numbers

Mathematics — Second Preparatory

Adding and subtracting like roots

Like roots have the same index and the same number under the root, such as 3√5 and 2√5.
They can be added or subtracted by adding or subtracting their coefficients only:
3√5 + 2√5 = (3 + 2)√5 = 5√5.
Before adding, simplify each root. The root √12 does not look like √3 at first, but √12 = √4 × √3 = 2√3, so it becomes like √3.

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