Powers & Roots (Edexcel IGCSE Maths A (Modular))

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  • What is a square root of a number?

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  • What is a square root of a number?

    A square root of a number is a value that, when squared, gives the original number.

    E.g. 3 is the square root of 9 because 32 = 3 x 3 = 9.

  • True or False?

    Every positive number has two square roots.

    True.

    Every positive number has two square roots, one positive and one negative.

    E.g. square root of 64 equals 8 and negative 8

  • True or False?

    Cube roots of negative numbers do not exist.

    False.

    The cube root of a negative number will also be a negative number.

    For example, -5 is a cube root of -125.

  • Define the term reciprocal.

    The reciprocal of a number is the number that you multiply it by to get 1.

    For example, 2 over 3 is the reciprocal of 3 over 2.

  • How do I estimate a root, e.g. the square root of 27?

    You can estimate the root of a number by finding the closest integer roots either side of it.

    E.g. To find square root of 27

    square root of 25 equals 5 and square root of 36 equals 6

    So square root of 27 is between 5 and 6

  • What number do you get when you raise any non-zero number to the power of zero, e.g. 20?

    Any non-zero number raised to the power of 0 is equal to 1.

    E.g. 20 = 1.

  • True or False?

    If you raise a non-zero number to the power of 1, you get 1.

    False.

    Any number raised to the power 1 is just itself.

    E.g. 6 to the power of 1 equals 6.

  • What do you get if you raise a non-zero number to the power of -1,
    e.g. 3-1 ?

    If you raise a non-zero number to the power of -1 you get the reciprocal of the number.

    E.g. 3 to the power of negative 1 end exponent equals 1 third.

  • What do you get if you raise a positive number to the power of ½,
    e.g. 51/2 ?

    If you raise a non-zero number to the power of ½ you get its positive square root.

    E.g. 5 to the power of 1 half end exponent equals square root of 5.

  • What is the index law for a to the power of m cross times a to the power of n?

    a to the power of m cross times a to the power of n equals a to the power of m plus n end exponent

    If you multiply two powers with the same base number, you add the indices together.

  • What is the index law for a to the power of m divided by a to the power of n?

    a to the power of m divided by a to the power of n equals a to the power of m minus n end exponent

    If you divide two powers with the same base number, you subtract one index from the other.

  • What is the index law for open parentheses a to the power of m close parentheses to the power of n?

    open parentheses a to the power of m close parentheses to the power of n equals a to the power of m cross times n end exponent

    If you raise a power to another power, you multiply the indices.

  • True or False?

    a to the power of m over n end exponent equals open parentheses m-th root of a to the power of n end root close parentheses

    False.

    a to the power of m over n end exponent equals open parentheses n-th root of a close parentheses to the power of m

    The denominator of an index is the root and the numerator of an index is the power.