simple surd thing

red and white kop!

Junior Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2009
Messages
231
explain why 1/((sqrt3)-1) = 1/((sqrt3)-1) x ((sqrt3) +1)/((sqrt3) +1)
i think the obvious answer is that ((sqrt3) +1)/((sqrt3) +1) = 1 but i dont know if thats the answer im supposed to be looking for...
 
You got it.

If you want to get fancy, you could say that it's true because of the Identity Property of Multiplication or because [sqrt(3)+1]/[sqrt(3)+1] is a multiplicative identity.

In other words, multiplying by 1 doesn't change anything. 8-)
 
Its like multiplying 1/2 with 5/5, it becomes 5/10, wich will still yield the answer .5 when divided.
 
Top