How do you divide radicals by whole numbers?

Dividing radicals by whole numbers is a straightforward process that involves simplifying the radical expression. Here’s how you can do it:

Suppose you have a radical expression like √a and you want to divide it by a whole number b. The division can be represented as:

√a ÷ b

To simplify this, follow these steps:

1. Rewrite the division: You can express the division of a radical by a whole number as:

√a ÷ b = (1/b) × √a

2. Combine under a single radical: You can also combine the denominator with the radical. That means you can write it as:

√a ÷ b = √(a/b²)

3. Rationalizing the denominator: If necessary and if √a includes fractional components, you might want to rationalize the denominator. This means you might remove any radicals from the denominator by multiplying the numerator and denominator accordingly.

For example, let’s consider dividing √50 by 5:

√50 ÷ 5 can be rewritten as:

√50 ÷ 5 = (1/5) × √50 = √(50/25) = √2

Thus, √50 ÷ 5 = √2. It’s as simple as that!