I'm not sure how to write a radical sign on the computer but the problem is y+3-4=5 inside a radical sign.

3 answers

try √ to copy/paste.

as written, I read

y+3-4 = √5

but that seems unlikely.

You can also write sqrt(...) to show explicitly what is inside the radical.
Steve, no the sqrt(...) is over the y+3 not over the 5
so, if you have

√(y+3) - 4 = 5
√(y+3) = 9
y+3 = 81
y = 78

by the way, I meant that you could have written sqrt(y+3), not just show ... as the argument.