Simplifying Radicals

A radical is a symbol that represents the root of a number, most commonly the square root (√) or cube root (∛).

To simplify a square root, factor the number under the radical into its prime factors, then pair the factors to take them out of the radical.

To simplify a cube root, factor the number under the radical into its prime factors and take out any groups of three.

Perfect squares are numbers that can be expressed as the square of an integer, such as 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, etc.

A square root (√) finds a number that, when multiplied by itself, gives the original number, while a cube root (∛) finds a number that, when multiplied by itself three times, gives the original number.

The first step is to factor the number under the radical into its prime factors.