since i started studying for sat, memories of middle school are coming back

i clearly remember taking those in grade 8 and i was a master at them but somehow studying for the sat rn just gave me a flashback and im (relearning them now):(

I feel like giving up

comeon man you've come too far too give up now keep trying!

its easy man, in asia its in the syllabus of 5th or 6th

Pls if you know any shortcut to any math problem please share it with us:)

you may check SAT past papers at collegeboard.org

Main content

Course: Digital SAT Math > Unit 4

Lesson 2: Radicals and rational exponents: foundations

Radicals and rational exponents | Lesson

Google Classroom

A guide to radicals and rational exponents on the digital SAT

What are radicals and rational exponents?

Exponential expressions are algebraic expressions with a coefficient, one or more variables, and one or more exponents. For example, in the expression

3 x^{4}

$3$ ‍ is the coefficient.
$x$ ‍ is the base.
$4$ ‍ is the exponent.

3 x^{4}

3

is multiplied by

x

4

times:

3 x^{4} = 3 \cdot (x \cdot x \cdot x \cdot x)

An expression can also be raised to an exponent. For example, for

(3 x)^{4}

, the expression

3 x

is multiplied by itself

4

times:

(3 x)^{4} = 3 x \cdot 3 x \cdot 3 x \cdot 3 x = 81 x^{4}

Notice how

3 x^{4} \neq (3 x)^{4}

Rational exponents refer to exponents that are/can be represented as fractions:

\frac{1}{2}

3

, and

- \frac{2}{3}

are all considered rational exponents. Radicals are another way to write rational exponents. For example,

x^{^{\frac{1}{2}}}

and

\sqrt{x}

are equivalent.

In this lesson, we'll:

Review the rules of exponent operations with integer exponents
Apply the rules of exponent operations to rational exponents
Make connections between equivalent rational and radical expressions

You can learn anything. Let's do this!

What are the rules of exponent operations?

Powers of products & quotients (integer exponents)

Khan Academy video wrapper

Powers of products & quotients (integer exponents)See video transcript

The rules of exponent operations

Adding and subtracting exponential expressions

When adding and subtracting exponential expressions, we're essentially combining like terms. That means we can only combine exponential expressions with both the same base and the same exponent.

\begin{aligned} a x^{n} \pm b x^{n} & = (a \pm b) x^{n} \end{aligned}

Multiplying and dividing exponential expressions

When multiplying two exponential expressions with the same base, we keep the base the same, multiply the coefficients, and add the exponents. Similarly, when dividing two exponential expressions with the same base, we keep the base the same and subtract the exponents.

\begin{aligned} a x^{m} \cdot b x^{n} & = a b \cdot x^{m + n} \\ \frac{a x^{m}}{b x^{n}} & = \frac{a}{b} \cdot x^{m - n} \end{aligned}

When multiplying or dividing exponential expressions with the same exponent but different bases, we multiply or divide the bases and keep the exponents the same.

\begin{aligned} x^{n} \cdot y^{n} & = (x y)^{n} \\ \frac{x^{n}}{y^{n}} & = {(\frac{x}{y})}^{n} \end{aligned}

Raising an exponential expression to an exponent and change of base

When raising an exponential expression to an exponent, raise the coefficient of the expression to the exponent, keep the base the same, and multiply the two exponents.

{(a x^{m})}^{n} = a^{n} \cdot x^{m n}

When the bases are numbers, we can use a similar rule to change the base of an exponential expression.

(a^{b})^{n} = a^{b n}

This is useful for questions with multiple terms that need to be written in the same base.

Negative exponents

A base raised to a negative exponent is equivalent to

1

divided by the base raised to the

of the exponent.

x^{- n} = \frac{1}{x^{n}}

Zero exponent

A nonzero base raised to an exponent of

0

is equal to

1

x^{0} = 1, x \neq 0

How do the rules of exponent operations apply to rational exponents?

Every rule that applies to integer exponents also applies to rational exponents.

Try it!

try: divide two rational expressions

In order to divide

12 x^{^{\frac{5}{2}}}

3 x^{^{\frac{1}{2}}}

, we

the coefficients and

the exponents of

x

\frac{12 x^{^{\frac{5}{2}}}}{3 x^{^{\frac{1}{2}}}} =

Try: raise an exponential expression to an exponent

To calculate

{(2 y^{^{\frac{4}{3}}})}^{3}

, we

and

the exponents

\frac{4}{3}

and

3

{(2 y^{^{\frac{4}{3}}})}^{3} =

How are radicals and fractional exponents related?

Rewriting roots as rational exponents

Khan Academy video wrapper

Rewriting roots as rational exponentsSee video transcript

Roots and rational exponents

Squares and square roots are inverse operations: they "undo" each other. For example, if we take the square root of

3

squared, we get

\sqrt{3^{2}} = 3

The reason for this becomes more apparent when we rewrite square root as a fractional exponent:

\sqrt{x} = x^{^{\frac{1}{2}}}

, and

\sqrt{3^{2}} = (3^{2})^{^{\frac{1}{2}}} = 3^{1}

When rewriting a radical expression as a fractional exponent, any exponent under the radical symbol (

\sqrt{}

) becomes the numerator of the fractional exponent, and the value to the left of the radical symbol (e.g.,

\sqrt[3]{}

) becomes the denominator of the fractional exponent. Square root is equivalent to

\sqrt[2]{}

\sqrt[n]{x^{m}} = x^{^{\frac{m}{n}}}

All of the rules that apply to exponential expressions with integer exponents also apply to exponential expressions with fractional exponents. Similarly, for radical expressions:

\begin{aligned} \sqrt[n]{x} \cdot \sqrt[n]{y} & = \sqrt[n]{x y} \\ \frac{\sqrt[n]{x}}{\sqrt[n]{y}} & = \sqrt[n]{\frac{x}{y}} \end{aligned}

When working with radical expressions with the same radical, we can choose whether to convert to fractional exponents first or multiply what's under the radical symbol first to our advantage.

Try it!

Try: determine equivalent expressions

Determine whether each of the radical expressions below is equivalent to

x^{^{\frac{3}{2}}} y^{^{\frac{1}{3}}}

	Equivalent	Not equivalent
$\sqrt{x^{3}} \cdot \sqrt[3]{y}$ ‍
$\sqrt{x y}$ ‍
$\sqrt{x^{3} y}$ ‍
$\sqrt[6]{x^{9} y^{2}}$ ‍

Things to remember

Adding and subtracting exponential expressions:

\begin{aligned} a x^{n} \pm b x^{n} & = (a \pm b) x^{n} \end{aligned}

Multiplying and dividing exponential expressions:

\begin{aligned} a x^{m} \cdot b x^{n} & = a b \cdot x^{m + n} \\ \frac{a x^{m}}{b x^{n}} & = \frac{a}{b} \cdot x^{m - n} \\ x^{n} \cdot y^{n} & = (x y)^{n} \\ \frac{x^{n}}{y^{n}} & = {(\frac{x}{y})}^{n} \end{aligned}

Raising an exponential expression to an exponent and change of base:

\begin{aligned} {(a x^{m})}^{n} & = a^{n} \cdot x^{m n} \\ (a^{b})^{n} & = a^{b n} \end{aligned}

Negative exponent:

x^{- n} = \frac{1}{x^{n}}

Zero exponent:

x^{0} = 1, x \neq 0

All of the rules that apply to exponential expressions with integer exponents also apply to exponential expressions with fractional exponents.

\begin{aligned} \sqrt[n]{x^{m}} & = x^{^{\frac{m}{n}}} \\ \sqrt[n]{x} \cdot \sqrt[n]{y} & = \sqrt[n]{x y} \\ \frac{\sqrt[n]{x}}{\sqrt[n]{y}} & = \sqrt[n]{\frac{x}{y}} \end{aligned}

Want to join the conversation?

Sort by:

bhavyasingh1240
Posted 8 months ago. Direct link to bhavyasingh1240's post “since i started studying ...”
since i started studying for sat, memories of middle school are coming back
Button navigates to signup pageComment on bhavyasingh1240's post “since i started studying ...”
(165 votes)
Answer
- hashem.loubani13
  Posted a month ago. Direct link to hashem.loubani13's post “i clearly remember taking...”
  i clearly remember taking those in grade 8 and i was a master at them but somehow studying for the sat rn just gave me a flashback and im (relearning them now):(
  Button navigates to signup page
  (9 votes)
mary
Posted 9 months ago. Direct link to mary's post “I feel like giving up”
I feel like giving up
Button navigates to signup pageComment on mary's post “I feel like giving up”
(93 votes)
Answer
- Dhruv
  Posted 9 months ago. Direct link to Dhruv's post “comeon man you've come to...”
  comeon man you've come too far too give up now keep trying!
  Comment on Dhruv's post “comeon man you've come to...”
  (124 votes)
zahara.bridgemohan
Posted 7 months ago. Direct link to zahara.bridgemohan's post “these radicals are so rad”
these radicals are so rad
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(30 votes)
Answer
- denisha.gonzalez
  Posted 7 months ago. Direct link to denisha.gonzalez's post “Never back down never WHA...”
  Never back down never WHAT??..
  Comment on denisha.gonzalez's post “Never back down never WHA...”
  (97 votes)
Magic
Posted 9 months ago. Direct link to Magic's post “dumb ways to die”
dumb ways to die
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(55 votes)
Answer
- Melodic_Personality
  Posted 9 months ago. Direct link to Melodic_Personality's post “its easy man, in asia its...”
  its easy man, in asia its in the syllabus of 5th or 6th
  Comment on Melodic_Personality's post “its easy man, in asia its...”
  (31 votes)
Susu
Posted a year ago. Direct link to Susu's post “I have no idea what's goi...”
I have no idea what's going on in the last question.
Button navigates to signup pageComment on Susu's post “I have no idea what's goi...”
(58 votes)
Answer
Kalen
Posted a year ago. Direct link to Kalen's post “hard for me, lots of thin...”
hard for me, lots of things to keep track of. I'll keep trying though
Button navigates to signup pageComment on Kalen's post “hard for me, lots of thin...”
(41 votes)
Answer
miyana777
Posted 6 months ago. Direct link to miyana777's post “the hardest part of the s...”
the hardest part of the sat is actually remembering the things you learned in middle school lmao
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(35 votes)
Answer
- Laura Iquiapaza
  Posted 2 months ago. Direct link to Laura Iquiapaza's post “Exactly that”
  Exactly that
  Button navigates to signup page
  (1 vote)
Lara Helme Altaee
Posted 9 months ago. Direct link to Lara Helme Altaee's post “my DSAT is in august any ...”
my DSAT is in august any tips ? please help your sister out its my first time taking any sat and im rlly nervous. i took a practice test and got 1050 any tips?
Button navigates to signup pageComment on Lara Helme Altaee's post “my DSAT is in august any ...”
(9 votes)
Answer
- Jang
  Posted 8 months ago. Direct link to Jang's post “Just pick the CORRECT ans...”
  Just pick the CORRECT answers on English, not the seem-like-correct ones. For math, just practice on what you are not sure before the test
  Button navigates to signup page
  (0 votes)
jasminecoca5
Posted 9 months ago. Direct link to jasminecoca5's post “We call this lesson at ou...”
We call this lesson at our school surds and indices. It's pretty much the same. I've researched it. It's just a matter of naming. So for anyone here who learnt this lesson as surds and indices don't worry the content is the exact same.
Button navigates to signup pageComment on jasminecoca5's post “We call this lesson at ou...”
(12 votes)
Answer
Phina Stephanie
Posted a year ago. Direct link to Phina Stephanie's post “Pls if you know any short...”
Pls if you know any shortcut to any math problem please share it with us:)
Button navigates to signup pageButton navigates to signup page
(9 votes)
Answer
- Bilol Urunov
  Posted 10 months ago. Direct link to Bilol Urunov's post “you may check SAT past pa...”
  you may check SAT past papers at collegeboard.org
  Button navigates to signup page
  (4 votes)

Digital SAT Math

Course: Digital SAT Math > Unit 4

What are radicals and rational exponents?

What are the rules of exponent operations?

Powers of products & quotients (integer exponents)

The rules of exponent operations

Adding and subtracting exponential expressions

Multiplying and dividing exponential expressions

Raising an exponential expression to an exponent and change of base

Negative exponents

Zero exponent

How do the rules of exponent operations apply to rational exponents?

Try it!

How are radicals and fractional exponents related?

Rewriting roots as rational exponents

Roots and rational exponents

Try it!

Your turn!

Things to remember

Want to join the conversation?