Whenever we have a fraction that contains a square root in the denominator, such as \dfrac{3}{\sqrt{2}}, we often want to find an equivalent fraction that has no square root in the denominator.

To find this equivalent fraction, all we need to do is multiply both the numerator and the denominator by the square root in the denominator. This process is known as rationalizing the denominator.

For example, for the fraction \dfrac{3}{\sqrt{2}}, we can remove the square root from the denominator by multiplying both the numerator and denominator by the square root:

\begin{align} \dfrac{3}{\sqrt{2}} &= \\[5pt] \dfrac{3}{\sqrt{2}} \cdot \dfrac{ \sqrt{2} }{ \sqrt{2} } &= \\[5pt] \dfrac{3 \sqrt{2} }{ \left( \sqrt{2} \right)^2 } &= \\[5pt] \dfrac{3 \sqrt{2} }{ 2 } \end{align}

So, when we rationalize the denominator in the fraction \dfrac{3}{\sqrt{2}}, we get the equivalent fraction \dfrac{3 \sqrt{2} }{ 2 } that has no square root in the denominator.

FLAG

Find a fraction that is equivalent to \dfrac {3}{\sqrt{5}} that does not contain a radical in the denominator.

EXPLANATION

To remove the radical \sqrt{5} from the denominator, all we need to do is multiply both the numerator and denominator by \sqrt{5} and simplify:

\begin{align} \dfrac {3} {\sqrt{5}} &= \\[5pt] \dfrac {3} {\sqrt{5}} \cdot \dfrac {\sqrt{5}} {\sqrt{5}} &= \\[5pt] \dfrac {3\sqrt{5}} {( \sqrt{5} )^2} &= \\[5pt] \dfrac {3\sqrt{5}} {5} & \end{align}

FLAG

$\dfrac {1}{\sqrt{2}}=$

a
$\dfrac{\sqrt2}8$
b
$2\sqrt{2} $
c
$\sqrt2-1$
d
$\dfrac {\sqrt{2}} {2}$
e
$\dfrac {\sqrt{2}} {4}$

$\dfrac {5}{\sqrt{2}}=$

a
$\dfrac {\sqrt{10}} {4}$
b
$\dfrac {\sqrt{10}} {2}$
c
$\dfrac {\sqrt{5}} {2}$
d
$\dfrac {5\sqrt{2}} {4}$
e
$\dfrac {5\sqrt{2}} {2}$

Find a fraction that is equivalent to \dfrac {15}{2\sqrt{5}} that does not contain a radical in the denominator.

EXPLANATION

To remove the radical \sqrt{5} from the denominator, all we need to do is multiply both the numerator and denominator by \sqrt{5} and simplify:

\begin{align} \dfrac {15} {2\sqrt{5}} &= \\[5pt] \dfrac {15} {2\sqrt{5}} \cdot \dfrac {\sqrt{5}} {\sqrt{5}} &= \\[5pt] \dfrac {15\sqrt{5}} {2( \sqrt{5} )^2} &= \\[5pt] \dfrac {15\sqrt{5}} {2 \cdot 5} &= \\[5pt] \dfrac{ 15 \sqrt{5} }{ 10 } &= \\[5pt] \dfrac{3 \sqrt{5} }{2} \end{align}

FLAG

$\dfrac {4}{\sqrt{2}}=$

a
$4\sqrt{2}$
b
$2\sqrt{2}$
c
$\sqrt{2}$
d
$2$
e
$\dfrac{1}{2}$

$\dfrac {9}{2\sqrt{3}}=$

a
$3\sqrt{3}$
b
$\dfrac {2\sqrt{3}} {3} $
c
$\dfrac {3\sqrt{3}} {2} $
d
$3\sqrt{2}$
e
$\dfrac {3} {2} $

Find a fraction that is equivalent to \dfrac {\sqrt{3}}{\sqrt{2}} that does not contain a radical in the denominator.

EXPLANATION

To remove the radical \sqrt{2} from the denominator, all we need to do is multiply both the numerator and denominator by \sqrt{2} and simplify:

\begin{align} \dfrac {\sqrt{3}} {\sqrt{2}} &= \\[5pt] \dfrac {\sqrt{3}} {\sqrt{2}} \cdot \dfrac {\sqrt{2}} {\sqrt{2}} &= \\[5pt] \dfrac {\sqrt{3}\cdot \sqrt{2}} {( \sqrt{2} )^2} &= \\[5pt] \dfrac {\sqrt{3}\cdot \sqrt{2}} {2}& \end{align}

Now, we use the product rule to simplify the numerator:

\begin{align} \dfrac {\sqrt{3}\cdot \sqrt{2}} {2} &= \\[5pt] \dfrac {\sqrt{3\cdot2}} {2}&= \\[5pt] \dfrac {\sqrt{6}} {2}& \end{align}

FLAG

$\dfrac {\sqrt{3}}{2\sqrt{5}}=$

a
$\dfrac {\sqrt{15}} {10}$
b
$\dfrac {\sqrt{15}} {5}$
c
$\dfrac {\sqrt{3}} {10}$
d
$\dfrac {\sqrt{5}} {2}$
e
$\dfrac {\sqrt{15}} {2}$

$\dfrac {6\sqrt{3}}{\sqrt{2}}=$

a
$\dfrac {\sqrt{6}} {2}$
b
$2\sqrt{3}$
c
$\dfrac {\sqrt{3}} {2}$
d
$3\sqrt{6}$
e
$6\sqrt{2}$

Find a fraction that is equivalent to \dfrac {\sqrt{5}}{\sqrt{8}} that does not contain a radical in the denominator.

EXPLANATION

To remove the radical \sqrt{8} from the denominator, all we need to do is multiply both the numerator and denominator by \sqrt{8} and simplify:

\begin{align} \dfrac {\sqrt{5}} {\sqrt{8}} &= \\[5pt] \dfrac {\sqrt{5}} {\sqrt{8}} \cdot \dfrac {\sqrt{8}} {\sqrt{8}} &= \\[5pt] \dfrac {\sqrt{5}\cdot\sqrt{8}} {( \sqrt{8} )^2} &= \\[5pt] \dfrac {\sqrt{5}\cdot\sqrt{8}} {8}& \end{align}

Next, we notice that 8 has a perfect square factor (4). Therefore, we can rewrite \sqrt{8} as follows:

\begin{align*} \sqrt{8} &=\\[5pt] \sqrt{4\cdot 2} &=\\[5pt] \sqrt 4\cdot \sqrt 2 &=\\[5pt] 2\sqrt 2& \end{align*}

Finally, we simplify our original fraction as follows:

\begin{align} \dfrac {\sqrt{5}\cdot\sqrt{8}} {8} &= \\[5pt] \dfrac {\sqrt{5}\cdot 2\sqrt 2} {8} &= \\[5pt] \dfrac {2\cdot \sqrt{5}\cdot \sqrt 2} {8} &= \\[5pt] \dfrac {\sqrt{5}\cdot \sqrt 2} {4} &= \\[5pt] \dfrac {\sqrt{5\cdot 2}} {4} &= \\[5pt] \dfrac{\sqrt {10}}{4} \end{align}

FLAG

$\dfrac {\sqrt{3}}{\sqrt{8}}=$

a
$\dfrac{\sqrt 6}{3}$
b
$\dfrac{\sqrt{10}}{4}$
c
$\dfrac{\sqrt{10}}{2}$
d
$\dfrac{\sqrt 6}{4}$
e
$\dfrac{\sqrt 6}{9}$

$\dfrac {\sqrt{8}}{\sqrt{3}} =$

a
$\dfrac{2\sqrt 3}{3}$
b
$\dfrac{2\sqrt 6}{3}$
c
$\dfrac{\sqrt {12}}{3}$
d
$\dfrac{2\sqrt 6}{10}$
e
$\dfrac{\sqrt 6}{10}$
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