How do you write 5x^(5/2) as a radical form?
1 Answer
Apr 23, 2016
Explanation:
If
5x^(5/2) = 5x^(5*1/2) = 5(x^5)^(1/2) = 5sqrt(x^5)
If you prefer:
5x^(5/2) = 5x^(2+1/2) = 5x^2x^(1/2) = 5x^2sqrt(x)
Footnote
Fractional exponents like this tend to work well with non-negative numbers, but can misbehave horribly for negative or Complex numbers.
For example:
(-1)^(3/2) = -i != i = ((-1)^3)^(1/2)
or even:
((-1)^(3/2))^(2/3) = (-i)^(2/3) = 1/2-sqrt(3)/2i != -1 = (-1)^(3/2 * 2/3)