Radicals with order higher than 2

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around simplifying the expression involving order 3 radicals, specifically the sum of the cube roots of (9 + 4√5) and (9 - 4√5). Participants are exploring methods to handle higher-order radicals and the implications of different radical orders.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the possibility of expressing the terms under the radicals as cubes to simplify the expression. There are questions about how to approach similar problems with higher-order radicals, such as order 6. Some suggest using the binomial theorem or Cardano's formula for cubic equations as potential methods.

Discussion Status

Several participants have offered different approaches, including the use of the binomial theorem and Cardano's formula. There is an acknowledgment of the complexity of the problem, and while some methods have been proposed, there is no explicit consensus on a single approach yet.

Contextual Notes

Participants note the challenges posed by language differences in mathematical terminology and the potential for varying interpretations of the problem setup. The original poster expresses uncertainty about how to solve the problem despite knowing the expected result.

Eurovision
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Homework Statement


order 3 radical from (9+4radical5) + order 3 radical from (9-4radical5)

*note: 9+4radical5 is all under the big order 3 radical. (so is the other one)

Homework Equations


in case you don't understand what i wrote (sorry, my language is not english and math linguistics differ in my language) click the attachement to see a picture of the equation


The Attempt at a Solution


I think i might find the solution by writing 9+4radical5 as a cube of something so as to cancel the radical but what if i have order 6 radical? (because i have this type of exercises as the next one. So clearly writing as a square, cube etc won't work everytime. Thank you!
 

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Eurovision said:

Homework Statement


order 3 radical from (9+4radical5) + order 3 radical from (9-4radical5)

*note: 9+4radical5 is all under the big order 3 radical. (so is the other one)

Homework Equations


in case you don't understand what i wrote (sorry, my language is not english and math linguistics differ in my language) click the attachement to see a picture of the equation


The Attempt at a Solution


I think i might find the solution by writing 9+4radical5 as a cube of something so as to cancel the radical but what if i have order 6 radical? (because i have this type of exercises as the next one. So clearly writing as a square, cube etc won't work everytime. Thank you!
Hallo Eurovision. Welcome to PF !

I take it that you need to in some way simplify \displaystyle \sqrt[3]{9+4\sqrt{5}\ }+\sqrt[3]{9-4\sqrt{5}\ }\,. Is that correct?
 
Thank you.

Yes, i must find what it equals to (I know already is 3 from the answers) but i don't know how to solve it.
 
I would do this is in a rather different way. Cardano's formula for the "reduced" cubic, x^3+ px+ q= 0, gives a result of the form
x= \sqrt[3]{-\frac{q}{2}+ \sqrt{\frac{q^2}{4}+\frac{p^3}{27}}}+ \sqrt[3]{-\frac{q}{2}- \sqrt{\frac{q^2}{4}+ \frac{p^3}{27}}}

The number in this problem, being a sum of cube roots, is of that form with -q/2= 9 and \sqrt{q^2/4+p^3/27}= 4\sqrt{5} so that q^2/4+ p^3/27= 80. Solving for p and q gives you a cubic equation that has x= 3 as its only real root.
 
HallsofIvy said:
I would do this is in a rather different way. Cardano's formula for the "reduced" cubic, x^3+ px+ q= 0, gives a result of the form
x= \sqrt[3]{-\frac{q}{2}+ \sqrt{\frac{q^2}{4}+\frac{p^3}{27}}}+ \sqrt[3]{-\frac{q}{2}- \sqrt{\frac{q^2}{4}+ \frac{p^3}{27}}}

The number in this problem, being a sum of cube roots, is of that form with -q/2= 9 and \sqrt{q^2/4+p^3/27}= 4\sqrt{5} so that q^2/4+ p^3/27= 80. Solving for p and q gives you a cubic equation that has x= 3 as its only real root.

Interesting method. *like* :cool:
 
Here's how I would do it: cube the entire thing.

Something helpful: If you have S = A + B, then S^3 = A^3 + B^3 + 3AB(A + B). And what is A + B? :)
 
Notice that \displaystyle \sqrt[3]{9+4\sqrt{5}\ }+\sqrt[3]{9-4\sqrt{5}\ }\,


can be written as \displaystyle \sqrt[3]{\sqrt{81}+\sqrt{80}\ }+\sqrt[3]{\sqrt{81}-\sqrt{80}}\ .
 

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