TOPIC OUTLINE:

- Zero and Negative Exponents

- Rational Exponents
- Properties of Radicals
- Operations of Radicals
- Solving Radical Equations

TOPIC 01: Zero and Negative Exponents

ZERO EXPONENTS
0
𝑥 = 1, 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑥 ≠ 0
Any number, excluding zero, with an exponent of zero is equal to one.

NEGATIVE EXPONENTS
−𝑛 1 𝑛 1
𝑥 = 𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑥 = −𝑛 , 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑥 ≠ 0 and 𝑛 is a counting number.
𝑥 𝑥

EXAMPLE PROBLEM
0
8(𝑥−𝑦) 8(1) 8 7
−7 = −7 = −7 = 8𝑥
𝑥 𝑥 𝑥
Non-zero expression raised to the power of 0 = 1, Multiply 8 · 1, If a negative exponent is in
−7
the denominator, transfer the expression 𝑥 to the numerator which makes the exponent
positive.

TOPIC 02: Rational Exponents

RATIONAL EXPONENTS
1
𝑛 𝑛
For any integer 𝑛 > 1 and any real number 𝑏 for which 𝑏 is defined, 𝑏 𝑛 = 𝑏

EXAMPLE PROBLEM
3 1
9 3 3
7 =7 = 7
1
𝑛
Reduce the fraction with 3, use 𝑏 𝑛 = 𝑏 to transform the expression.

TOPIC 03: Properties of Radicals

THE PRODUCT RULE FOR RADICALS
If 𝑎 and 𝑏 represent nonnegative real numbers, then 𝑎 · 𝑏 = 𝑎𝑏.

THE QUOTIENT RULE FOR RADICALS

If 𝑎 and 𝑏 represent nonnegative real numbers where 𝑏 ≠ 0, then
𝑎 𝑎
𝑏
= .
𝑏
The square root of a quotient is equal to the quotient of the square root of the numerator and
denominator.
EXAMPLE PROBLEM
7 3 2 6 2 3
196𝑟 𝑦 = 14 · 𝑟 · 𝑦 · 𝑟𝑦 = 14𝑟 𝑦 𝑟𝑦
Find the factors of 196 with a perfect square, rewrite the exponent as a sum where one of the
addends is a multiple of the index, simplify the roots; reduce the index of the radical and
exponent with 2.

TOPIC 04: Operations of Radicals

There are four types of basic arithmetic: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. For
this topic we will be focusing on,

ADDITION OF LIKE RADICALS

𝑎 𝑥 + 𝑏 𝑥 = (𝑎 + 𝑏) 𝑥

EXAMPLE PROBLEM
7 3 + 4 3 = (7 + 4) 3 = 11 3
Collect like terms and calculate.

TOPIC 05: Solving Radical Equations

SQUARING PROPERTY OF EQUALITY
2 2
If 𝑎 = 𝑏, then 𝑎 = 𝑏 .
Solving equations requires isolation of the variable. This can be solved by raising both sides of
the equation to the “𝑛𝑡ℎ” power, where 𝑛 is the “index” or “root” of the radical.

EXAMPLE PROBLEM
2 2
19 + 𝑥 = 7 − 𝑥 = ( 19 + 𝑥) = ( 7 − 𝑥)
19 + 𝑥 = 7 − 𝑥 = 𝑥 + 𝑥 = 7 − 19
2𝑥 −12
2
= 2
𝑥 =− 6
Square both sides of the equation to get rid of the square root, transpose the terms, calculate,
divide both sides by 2.