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2 9.3 Adding and Subtracting Radical Expressions

3  Use the Distributive Property to add and subtract like radicals.  Use radical expressions in application problems. What You Will Learn

4 Adding and Subtracting Radical Expressions

5 Two or more radical expressions are called like radicals when they have the same index and the same radicand. For instance, the expressions and are like radicals, whereas the expressions and are not. Two radical expressions that are like radicals can be added or subtracted by adding or subtracting their coefficients.

6 Example 1 – Combining Radical Expressions Simplify each expression by combining like radicals. a. b. c. Solution a. Distributive Property Simplify.

7 Example 1 – Combining Radical Expressions b. Group like radicals. Distributive Property Simplify. c. Distributive Property Simplify. cont’d

8 Applications

9 Example 5 – Geometry: Finding the Perimeter of a Triangle Write and simplify an expression for the perimeter of the triangle shown below. Solution P = a + b + c Formula for perimeter of a triangle

10 Example 5 – Geometry: Finding the Perimeter of a Triangle Substitute. Distributive Property Simplify. cont’d