Need an Algebra Guide

[Ruger22C]

I'm trying to CLEP Algebra, but I can't find a book or tutorial that's helpful.

Everything I've come across is redundant, incorrect, and annoying -- OR more often, it doesn't explain how it performed the operations! For example, I'm supposed to simplify a square root problem that involves variables which have exponents.

The example (attached) is from my textbook. It tells me to use the product rule, shows me 3 steps, and that's it; I have no idea how it handled the variables and their exponents.


Please suggest a well-made guide.

 

[snoopy7548]

It has been about 18 years, but since you can't get a clean result from just finding the square root of (162a^5), you need to reduce it... you end up with sqrt[(81a^4) * (2a)]. b^4 doesn't change, so you've got sqrt[(81a^4b^4)*2a)], or [sqrt(81a^4b^4) * sqrt(2a)], as shown in the solution. Then you can now find the square of sqrt(81a^4b^4) to 9a^2b^2, and you're left with multiplying it by sqrt(2a), which can't be factored down any more.

I guess maybe an easy way to think about it is, what does it take to obtain a perfect square root from the original expression? The example assumes you know how to handle variables with exponents, which you should by this point.

 

[Ajay]

https://www.khanacademy.org/math/algebra1 (and 2 is available). If you are bright, you can go through these self paced guides quickly. If you can’t, you shouldn’t be trying to clep the the subject. Good luck!

 

[Ruger22C]

https://www.khanacademy.org/math/algebra1 (and 2 is available). If you are bright, you can go through these self paced guides quickly. If you can’t, you shouldn’t be trying to clep the the subject. Good luck!

I am, and that's part of the problem. He spends 15 minutes (teaches the same thing across 3 videos) explaining something that I would understand in two minutes or less, if he didn't present it in the most drawn-out way possible. His videos are insufferable.

 

[Red Squirrel]

This just reminded me of how glad I am to be done school. Haha.

Sorry I can't help, unless you want to fail. 😛 Just remember to carry over the x and derive your 2's.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I thought the example showed very well how to simplify the original expression. If you're not comfortable manipulating that type of problem, you need to do a lot more problems.