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2011 AMC 10A Problem 16

Problem 16 of 25IntermediateAlgebra

Which of the following is equal to 962+9+62?\sqrt{9-6\sqrt{2}}+\sqrt{9+6\sqrt{2}}?

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Solution

Since we have square roots, we can try to change the inside of each radical to be a perfect square. Note that we can rewrite the expression as 662+3+6+62+3. \begin{aligned} & \sqrt{6 - 6\sqrt2 + 3} \\ &{}+ \sqrt{6 + 6\sqrt2 + 3}. \end{aligned} Factoring and simplifying gives us (63)2+(6+3)2 \sqrt{(\sqrt6 - \sqrt3)^2} + \sqrt{(\sqrt6 + \sqrt3)^2} =63+6+3=26. = \sqrt6 - \sqrt3 + \sqrt6 + \sqrt3 = 2\sqrt6. Thus, B is the correct answer.

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Concepts: radical · algebraic manipulation

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