Copyright 2013, 2009, 2005, 2002 Pearson, Education, Inc.

7.6

Radical Equations
and Problem
Solving
 Power Rule
If both sides of an equation are raised to the
same power, all solutions of the original
equation are among the solutions of the new
equation.
 Example
Solve.
x 1 5 Check: Substitute

2
x 1 52
into the original
equation.
x 1 25 24 1 5

x 24 25 5 True

So the solution is x = 24.

 Solving a Radical Equation
Step 1: Isolate one radical on one side of the
equation.
Step 2: Raise each side of the equation to a
power equal to the index of the radical and
simplify.
Step 3: If equation still contains a radical, repeat
steps 1 and 2. If not, solve equation.
Step 4: Check proposed solutions in the original
equation.
 Example
Solve: x 1 1 0.

Check: Substitute into the

x 1 1
original equation.
2
x 1 12
2 1 1 0
x 1 1
1 1 0
x2
1 1 0 True

So the solution is x = 2.
 Example
Solve: 2 x x 1 8
x 1 8 2x

x 1 8 2x
2 2

x 1 64 32 x 4 x 2
0 63 33 x 4 x 2
0 (3 x)(21 4 x)
21
x 3 or
4
continued
 Example (cont)

Substitute the value for x into the original

equation, to check the solution.
2(3) 3 1 8 2
21
4

21
4
1 8

6 4 8 True 21 25
8
2 4
21 5
8
21/4 is an extraneous 2 2
solution. The only solution is 26
x = 3. 8 False
2
 Example
Solve: y 5 2 y 4

2
y 5 2 y4 2

y5 44 y4 y 4

5 4 y 4 25
y4
5 16
y4
4 25 89
y 4
16 16

2
5 2
y4
4
continued
 continued
Substitute the value for x into the original
equation, to check the solution.
89 89
5 2 4
16 16
169 25
2
16 16
13 5
2
4 4
13 3 This equation has no
False solution.
4 4
 Example
Solve: 2 x 4 3 x 4 2
2 x 4 2 3 x 4

2
2 x 4 2 3x 4 2

2 x 4 4 4 3x 4 3x 4
2 x 4 8 3 x 4 3 x 4
x 12 4 3x 4 x 2 24 x 80 0
x 12 2

4 3x 4 2
x 20 x 4 0
x 2 24 x 144 16(3 x 4) 48 x 64 x 4 or 20
continued
 Example (cont)

Substitute the value for x into the original

equation, to check the solution.

2(4) 4 3(4) 4 2 2(20) 4 3(20) 4 2

4 16 2 36 64 2
2 4 2 6 8 2
True True

The solutions are x = 4 or x = 20.

 Example
Solve.
5 x 5 Substitute into the
original equation.
5x 2
5
2
5 5 5
5 x 25 25 5

x5 Does NOT check, since the left

side of the equation is asking for
the principal square root.

So the solution is .
 The Pythagorean Theorem

Pythagorean Theorem
If a and b are lengths of the legs of a right
triangle and c is the length of the hypotenuse,
then
a2 + b2 = c2.

hypotenuse
leg a

leg b
 Example

Find the length of the hypotenuse of a right

triangle when the length of the two legs are 2
inches and 7 inches.
a2 + b 2 = c 2
22 + 7 2 = c 2
4 + 49 = c2
53 = c2
c = 53 inches
 Example

Find the length of the leg of a right triangle. Give

the exact length and a two-decimal-approximation.
Let a = 2 meters and c = 9 meters.

a2 + b 2 = c 2
22 + b 2 = 9 2
4 + b2 = 81
b2 = 77
b = 77 8.77 inches
 Example

A surveyor must determine the distance across a lake at points P and Q as shown in the figure. To do this, she finds a third point, R, perpendicular to
line PQ. If the length of PQ is 320 feet and the length of QR is 240 feet, what is the distance across the lake? Approximate the distance to the nearest
whole foot.

Use the Pythagorean theorem to solve

the problem.
c = 320
a = 240
determine b
 Example (cont)
A surveyor must determine the distance across a lake at points P and Q as
shown in the figure. To do this, she finds a third point, R, perpendicular to
line PQ. If the length of PQ is 320 feet and the length of QR is 240 feet,
what is the distance across the lake? Approximate the distance to the
nearest whole foot.
a b c
2 2 2

2402 b 2 3202
57,600 b 2 102, 400
b 2 44,800
b 44,800
b 80 7 212
The distance across the lake is about 212 feet.