Identities and Properties
Every positive real number has a positive nth root and the rules for operations with such surds are straightforward:
Using the exponent form as in normally makes it easier to cancel out powers and roots.
Problems can occur when taking the nth roots of negative or complex numbers. For instance:
whereas
when taking the principal value of the roots. See failure of power and logarithm identities in the exponentiation article for more details.
Read more about this topic: nth Root
Famous quotes containing the word properties:
“A drop of water has the properties of the sea, but cannot exhibit a storm. There is beauty of a concert, as well as of a flute; strength of a host, as well as of a hero.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)