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What Is (radical 10 + Radical 5)(radical 10 - Radical 5)?

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Oddman answered
This question is an application of the factoring of the difference of two squares.
  A^2 - b^2 = (a + b)(a - b)
You have
  a = √10
  b = √5
The square of a square root is the number itself.
  A^2 = (√10)^2 = 10
  b^2 = (√5)^2 = 5
  ((√10) + (√5))((√10 - (√5))
  = (√10)^2 - (√5)^2
  = 10 - 5
  = 5
It is a good idea to memorize this factoring. It shows up a lot in algebra problems. It can actually be usefully applied to compute values in your head that might otherwise be difficult to do. This problem is an example of that.

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