Math  /  Algebra

QuestionSquare root addition or subtraction with three terms
Simplify. 227+153122 \sqrt{27}+15 \sqrt{3}-\sqrt{12}

Studdy Solution

STEP 1

What is this asking? We've got a bunch of square roots here, and we need to simplify them by adding and subtracting them together! Watch out! We can only add or subtract square roots if the stuff *inside* the square root is the same.
So we'll need to simplify first!

STEP 2

1. Simplify the square roots
2. Combine like terms

STEP 3

Alright, let's **break down** that first term, 2272 \sqrt{27}.
We're looking for **perfect squares** hiding inside 27.
Think: what perfect square goes into 27?
It's 9!
We can rewrite 27 as 939 \cdot 3.

STEP 4

So, 2272 \sqrt{27} becomes 2932 \sqrt{9 \cdot 3}.
Since 9\sqrt{9} is 3, we can pull that **3 out front** and multiply it by the 2 that's already there.
This gives us 2332 \cdot 3 \sqrt{3}, which simplifies to 636 \sqrt{3}.
Awesome!

STEP 5

The second term, 15315 \sqrt{3}, is already simplified.
The number inside the square root, 3, is a **prime number**, so there are no perfect square factors to pull out.
We can leave it as is.

STEP 6

Now, let's tackle the last term, 12\sqrt{12}.
We need to find a **perfect square** inside 12.
4 goes into 12!
We can rewrite 12 as 434 \cdot 3.

STEP 7

So, 12\sqrt{12} becomes 43\sqrt{4 \cdot 3}.
Since 4\sqrt{4} is 2, we can pull that **2 out front**.
This gives us 232 \sqrt{3}.

STEP 8

Now, we've got 63+153236 \sqrt{3} + 15 \sqrt{3} - 2 \sqrt{3}.
Since all the square roots have the same number inside (that's the **3**), we can add and subtract the numbers *outside* the square roots!

STEP 9

Think of it like this: we have 6 "things" plus 15 "things" minus 2 "things".
Where "thing" is 3\sqrt{3}.
So, 6+1526 + 15 - 2 gives us **19**.

STEP 10

Therefore, our **final simplified expression** is 19319 \sqrt{3}!

STEP 11

19319 \sqrt{3}

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