Question

Complete the expression subtracting the radicals.
?sqrt?-?sqrt?=?sqrt?
not all ?s are the same. find the value of all ?s. each sqrt is comprised of 2 different integers(ex. 3sqrt5)

Answer 1

To complete the expression and solve for the radical equation in the form:

\[
\sqrt{a} - \sqrt{b} = \sqrt{c}
\]

Let's assign integers to \(a\), \(b\), and \(c\). Not all values need to be the same, and the radicals should be composed of integers where necessary.

Let's take a specific example:

1. Let's say \( \sqrt{8} - \sqrt{2} = ?\)
2. We know:
\[
\sqrt{8} = 2\sqrt{2}
\]
Therefore:
\[
2\sqrt{2} - \sqrt{2} = (2 - 1)\sqrt{2} = 1\sqrt{2}
\]

From the above, we can substitute \(c\):
\[
c = 2
\]

Thus, we have:

\[
\sqrt{8} - \sqrt{2} = \sqrt{2}
\]

In our example, the values are:
- \( a = 8 \)
- \( b = 2 \)
- \( c = 2 \)

You can choose different values for \(a\), \(b\), but you would still arrive at the conclusion that when subtracting radicals, they need to be similar to simplify directly.