Looking At Radicals Inward Algebra 1

I've never actually known what to create most teaching radicals inwards Algebra 1. Oklahoma's Algebra one standards currently direct keep students simplify expressions involving radicals inwards Algebra 1. This is non the same every bit simplifying radicals - that happens inwards Algebra 2.

In the past, I've taken several approaches. I either skip radicals altogether in addition to country students to type them inwards on their calculators come upwards examine time. Or, I become all-out in addition to learn simplifying radicals, adding/subtracting radicals, in addition to multiplying/dividing radicals. This year, I decided to only learn rationalizing in addition to reducing. It's amend than only having kiddos type things inwards their calculators which teaches them naught in addition to only helps them transcend the test. And, I'm non wasting fourth dimension yesteryear teaching things that won't hold out tested. My Algebra one students are already far behind, then fourth dimension is at a premium. Plus, this is a high-stakes class. They must transcend the end-of-instruction examine to hold out eligible to graduate. We are piece of cake but certainly making progress, though.

If y'all expose at the top of the page, this is science three for the year. It direct follows companionship of operations/integer operations in addition to fraction operations. I specifically taught it subsequently fractions because I wanted to rely on the visit of equivalent fractions for teaching rationalizing the denominator instead of teaching kids to memorize the steps for how to rationalize.

In the past, I've been guilty of explaining rationalizing the denominator similar this: "If nosotros desire to larn rid of a foursquare rootage inwards the denominator, multiply the numerator in addition to denominator yesteryear the foursquare rootage y'all are trying to larn rid of." The radicals magically disappeared, but I never explained to them how they should know how to create that. Of course, that strategy savage apart when at that topographic point was a cube rootage inwards the denominator...

This year, I decided to accept a dissimilar approach. I told them that our finish was to larn rid of the radical on the bottom. Then, I encouraged them to intend of a radical that could hold out on the bottom that would simplify. Now, what tin nosotros multiply the denominator yesteryear to larn inwards into that radical?

This worked sooooooooooo much better. If students had a radical 5 inwards the denominator, they recognized that if it was a radical twenty-five that the denominator would trim down to five. Thus, they should multiply the numerator in addition to denominator yesteryear radical five.

Some students caught on to the shortcut that I used to learn my students. Other students travel out their foursquare rootage nautical chart in addition to intend through the procedure of what to alter the denominator to each time. Either way, students are thinking most what they are doing instead of blindly next steps, in addition to that has me then excited. Why has it taken me then long to figure this out???

Download the file for this lesson here.