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How do you clear a radical from the denominator of a fraction?

This isn't homework or anything, this has just always bothered me. What do you multiply by to clear out the radical?

4 Answers

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  • mecdub
    Lv 7
    2 decades ago
    Favorite Answer

    This is called rationalizing the denominator. To do this you multiply the whole fraction by some form of 1, usually in the form of the radical you want to clear out.

    Let's say you have 4/sqrt(5). To get rid of the sqrt(5) in the denominator you muliply by [sqrt(5)/sqrt(5)].

    [(4/sqrt(5)] * [sqrt(5)/sqrt(5)]

    = [4 sqrt(5)] / [sqrt(5)]^2

    =[4 sqrt(5)] /5

  • 2 decades ago

    by a process called racionalization. U multiply your expresion times a racionalized expresion of 1 (ex. √x/√x)

    so will eliminate the root in the denominator. Follow this example for the expresion 3/√2:

    (3/√2)*(1)=(3/√2)*(√2/√2)= (3√2)/2

  • 2 decades ago

    ok so say u have 2 over the square root of 5, u would multiply that fraction by the square root of 5 over the square root of 5...so that would give u 2 times the square root of 5 and then all of that is over just 5. hope that makes sense

  • 2 decades ago

    its its a monimial radical like x/sqrt(y) just multiply by itself top and bottom. if its binomial, like x/(sqrt(a)+sqrt(b)) multiply top and bottom by its conjugate sqrt(a)-sqrt(b). same thing with sqrt(a)+b since b=sqrt(b^2)

    it helps if u actually post the original question

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