Subtract. Write your answer in simplest form.

Question

4 radical 2 minus 5 radical 2

Answer 1

To subtract expressions with like radicals, you simply subtract the coefficients (the numbers in front of the radical sign) and keep the radical part the same.

Given the expression:

4√2 - 5√2

You would subtract the coefficients (4 and 5) and keep the radical (√2) unchanged.

Therefore:

4√2 - 5√2 = (4 - 5)√2 = -1√2

This can be simplified to:

-√2

So the simplest form of the expression is:

-√2