GIRLS’ HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE, PRAYAGRAJ

WORKSHEET-4

CLASS IX (A,B,C,D, E &F)

SESSION 2020-2021

SUBJECT-MATHEMATICS

INSTRUCTIONS:- Parents are expected to ensure that the student spends two days to read
and understand the chapter according to the books and website referred and thereafter answer
the given questions.

Note:- 1. Student should refer to books of class 6, 7 & 8 for reference and also the following
websites : www.extramarks.com and www.topperlearning.com

2. Concise MATHEMATICS I.C.S.E. Class-IX BY R.K. Bansal

3. Understanding I.C.S.E. MATHEMATICS class-IX By M.L. Aggarwal.

TOPIC :- RATIONAL AND IRRATIONAL NUMBERS

THE NUMBER SYSTEM

NUMBER SYSTEM

IMAGINARY NUMBERS REAL NUMBERS

√-4, √-5, ... (R)
√4, √5, ....

IRRATIONAL NUMBERS RATIONAL NUMBERS (Q)

(Q') ..-8, 0, 6, 5, 2, .. etc
√3, -√8, 3√2, .. etc

NON INTEGRAL RATIONALS INTEGERS (I or Z)

-5/8, 8/15, ..etc .., -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, .. etc

POSITIVE INTEGERS (N, NEGATIVE INTEGERS

Natural Numbers)) ZERO -3, -2, -1 etc
1, 2, 3, 4. ... etc

WHOLE NUMBERS (W)

0, 1, 2, 3, 4, …

Page 1/9
 RATIONAL NUMBERS

IMPORTANT POINTS TO REMEMBER

𝑎𝑎
1. is a rational number,
𝑏𝑏
 where b ≠ 0
 a and b do not have any common factor other than 1 (one) i.e. a and b are co-
primes
 b is usually positive whereas a may be negative, zero or positive

2. Every integer (positive, negative or zero) and every decimal number is a rational
number.
𝑎𝑎 −𝑎𝑎
3. Corresponding to every rational number its negative rational number is .
𝑏𝑏 𝑏𝑏
𝑎𝑎 𝑎𝑎 −𝑎𝑎
Also, − = = and so on
𝑏𝑏 −𝑏𝑏 𝑏𝑏

𝑎𝑎
4. (i) A rational number , where a€I, b€I and b≠0, is positive if a and b both have the
𝑏𝑏
5 −5 −3
same sign. Thus, each of , , are all positive rational numbers.
7 −7 −11

𝑎𝑎
(ii) A rational number is negative if a and b have opposite signs.
𝑏𝑏
5 5 −3
Thus, each of − , , are all negative rational numbers.
7 −7 11

𝑎𝑎 𝑐𝑐
5. Two rational numbers 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 are equal if and only if a x d = b x c.
𝑏𝑏 𝑑𝑑
𝑎𝑎 𝑐𝑐
i.e. = 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑎𝑎 x 𝑑𝑑 = 𝑏𝑏 x 𝑐𝑐.
𝑏𝑏 𝑑𝑑
𝑎𝑎 𝑐𝑐 𝑎𝑎 𝑐𝑐
Also, > , 𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 𝑎𝑎 x 𝑑𝑑 > 𝑏𝑏 x 𝑐𝑐 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 < 𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 𝑎𝑎 x 𝑑𝑑 < 𝑏𝑏 x 𝑐𝑐.
𝑏𝑏 𝑑𝑑 𝑏𝑏 𝑑𝑑

𝑎𝑎+𝑏𝑏
6. For any two rational numbers a and b, is also a rational number which lies between
2
𝑎𝑎+𝑏𝑏 𝑎𝑎+𝑏𝑏
a and b. Thus, a > b, then 𝑎𝑎 > > 𝑏𝑏 and if a < b, then 𝑎𝑎 < < 𝑏𝑏
2 2

Solved Example
3 5
Which of the rational numbers 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 is greater. Insert three rational numbers between
5 7
3 5
𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 such that all the five numbers are in ascending order of their values.
5 7

3 5
 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎
5 7

3x7 5x5 21 25
 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 = 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎
5x7 7x5 35 35

25 21 5 3
 Clearly > , Therefore >
35 35 7 5

3 5
3 5 3 �5 +7 � 5 3 23 5
Now. < < < < <
5 7 5 2 7 5 35 7

Page 2/9
 3 23 23 5
3 �5 +35 � 23 �35 +7 � 5
Now again < < < < ,
5 2 35 2 7

3 22 23 24 5
Therefore < < < < which are in ascending order.
5 35 35 35 7

Q1 Solve the Following

5 7 2 11
(i) Arrange − , , − 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 in the ascending order of their magnitude. Insert three
9 12 3 18
7 11
rational numbers between 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎
12 18

𝑝𝑝
(ii) Is ‘Zero’ a rational number? Can it be written in the form of , where p and q are
𝑞𝑞
integers and q≠0.

PROPERTIES OF RATIONAL NUMBERS

1. The sum of two or more rational numbers is always a rational number.

2. The difference of two or more rational numbers is always a rational number.

i.e. If a and b are any two rational numbers, then each of a-b and b-a is also a rational
number.

3. The product of two or more rational numbers is always a rational number.

4. The division of a rational number by a non-zero rational number is always a rational

number.

DECIMAL REPRESENTATION OF RATIONAL NUMBERS

Terminating Decimals – The rational numbers whose decimal representation terminates. i.e.
the division of numerator and denominator is exact and no remainder is left.
1 2
For example – = 0.125 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 3 = 3.4
8 5

Non Terminating Decimals – The division of a numerator to denominator never ends, no

matter how long it continues. The quotients of such divisions are non-terminating decimals.
3 8
For example = 0.428571428 … . 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 = 0.7826086..
7 23

Non Terminating Recurring Decimals – The process of division never ends and in the
decimal part either a single digit or set of digits repeats in specific order.
4 4
For example = 0.44444444 … . 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 = 0.57142857142
9 7

Note:- If the denominator of a rational number can be expressed as 2m x 5n, where m and n
are both whole numbers, the rational number is convertible into terminating decimal.

Page 3/9
Solved Examples

Find whether each of the following is a terminating decimal or not.

𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏
(i)
𝟓𝟓𝟓𝟓

The denominator 50 can be written as 2 x 5 x 5 = 21 x 52 , i.e. 50 can be expressed as 2m x 5n.

𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏
Therefore, 𝒊𝒊𝒊𝒊 𝒂𝒂 𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅
𝟓𝟓𝟎𝟎

𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐
(ii)
𝟕𝟕𝟕𝟕

The denominator 72 can be written as 2 x 2x 2 x 3 x 3 = 23 x 32 , i.e. 72 cannot be expressed as

𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐
2m x 5n. Therefore, 𝒊𝒊𝒊𝒊 𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏𝒏 𝒂𝒂 𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕 𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅
𝟕𝟕𝟕𝟕

Q2 Solve the Following

Without doing any actual division, find which of the following rational numbers have
terminating decimal representation.
𝟕𝟕 𝟗𝟗 𝟒𝟒𝟒𝟒 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 𝟔𝟔𝟔𝟔
(i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v)
𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 𝟓𝟓𝟓𝟓 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐 𝟕𝟕𝟕𝟕

IRRATIONAL NUMBERS (Q’)

1. The square roots, cube roots etc of natural numbers are irrational numbers, if their exact
values cannot be obtained. e.g. √𝑚𝑚 is irrational if exact square root of m does not exist.

2. A non terminating and non recurring decimal is an irrational number. e.g. 0.4243445..,
3.862045…
𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑎𝑎 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐
3. The number π = = 3.14159265358979…… We often take as
𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑒 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝟕𝟕
𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐
an approximate value of π but π ≠ .
𝟕𝟕

Solved Example

Show that √𝟐𝟐 is an irrational number.

We prove this by the Method of Contradiction

𝑎𝑎 𝑎𝑎 2
Let √2 be a rational number. Therefore √2 = 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 2 = 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑎𝑎2 = 2𝑏𝑏 2 . This means 𝑎𝑎2 is
𝑏𝑏 𝑏𝑏 2
divisible by 2 and a is also divisible by 2. (I)

Let a = 2c, a2 = 4c2. Substituting for a2 we get 2b2 = 4c2 or b2 = 2c2. This means that b2 is
divisible by 2 and b is also divisible by 2. (II)

From I & II above we get, a and b are both divisible by 2 i.e. a and b have a common factor 2.
Page 4/9
 𝑎𝑎
This contradicts our assumption that is rational i.e. a and b do not have any common factor
𝑏𝑏
other than unity (1).

Thus
𝑎𝑎
 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 𝑎𝑎 𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛
𝑏𝑏
 √2 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 𝑎𝑎 𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛,
 √2 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛
Similarly √3, √5, √6, 3√2 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛

Q 3 (A) Solve the Following

Show that √𝟑𝟑 is an irrational number

Solved Example

Prove that √8 + 5 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖

Let √8 + 5 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖, so √8 + 5 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑎𝑎 𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛.

Now let √8 + 5 = 𝑥𝑥, 𝑎𝑎 𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛
2
𝑥𝑥 2 = �√8 + 5� = 8 + 25 + 2√8 x 5 = 33 + 10√8 = 33 + 10 x2√2 = 33 + 20√2
𝑥𝑥 2 − 33
𝑥𝑥 2 = 33 + 20√2 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 20√2 = 𝑥𝑥 2 − 33 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 therefore √2 = (I)
20
𝑥𝑥 2 − 33
Since it is assumed that √8 + 5 = 𝑥𝑥 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟, 𝑥𝑥 2 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 = √2 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟
20

But √2 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑖𝑖. 𝑒𝑒. 𝑥𝑥 2 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 (II)

From I we arrive at 𝑥𝑥 2 is rational
From II we arrive at 𝑥𝑥 2 is irrational

Therefore we arrive at a contradiction. So our assumption that √8 + 5 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤

Therefore, √𝟖𝟖 + 𝟓𝟓 𝒊𝒊𝒊𝒊 𝒊𝒊𝒊𝒊𝒊𝒊𝒊𝒊𝒊𝒊𝒊𝒊𝒊𝒊𝒊𝒊𝒊𝒊𝒊𝒊.

Q 3 (B) Solve the Following

Show that 𝟑𝟑 − √𝟐𝟐 is irrational.

Solved Example

Find two irrational numbers between 2 and 3

Since 2 = √4 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 3 = √9, therefore, each of √5, √6, √7 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 √8 is an irrational number between
2 and 3.

Q4 Solve the Following

(i) Insert two irrational numbers between 5 and 6.

(ii) Insert five irrational numbers between 2√5 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 3√3

Page 5/9
Solved Example

Find two rational numbers between √2 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 √3

Take any two rational numbers between 2 and 3 which are perfect squares i.e. 2.25, 2.56.
2.89.etc
Therefore, √2 < √3 √2 < √2.25 < √2.56 < √3 √2 < 1.5 < 1.6 < √3

Q5 Solve the Following

Write three rational numbers between √𝟑𝟑 𝒂𝒂𝒂𝒂𝒂𝒂 √𝟓𝟓

Solved Example

Identify each of the following as rational or irrational number.

2 2
(i) �2 + √2� = 22 + 2 x2 x√2 + �√2� = 4 + 4√2 + 2
= 6 + 4 √2 𝑤𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖ℎ 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛
2
Therefore, �2 + √2� 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛

3 2 9 9
(ii) � � = = 𝑤𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖ℎ 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑎𝑎 𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛
2 √2 4x2 8
3 2
Therefore, � � 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑎𝑎 𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛
2 √2

Q6 Solve the Following

A. State whether the following numbers are rational or not.

2 2 2
√7
(i) �3 − √3� (ii) �5 + √5��5 − √5� (iii) �√3 − √2� (iv) � �
6 √2

B. Find the square of

3 √5
(i) � � (ii) �√3 + √2� (iii) �√5 − 2� (iv) 3 + 2√5
5

Solved Example

Which of the following numbers is greater

(i) 3√2 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 2√3

3√2 = √32 x 2 = √18
2√3 = �22 x 3 = √12
Since √18 > √12, we conclude that 3√2 > 2√3
3 3
(ii) 6 √3 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 5 √4
Page 6/9
 3 3 3
6 √3 = √63 x 3 = √648
3 3 3
5 √4 = √53 x 4 = √500
3 3 3 3
Since √648 > √500 , we conclude that 6 √3 > 5 √4

Q7 Solve the Following

Write in ascending order

3 3
(i) 3√5 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 4√3 (ii) 2 √5 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 3 √2 (iii) 6√5 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 7√3

Solved Example
3
Compare √4 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 √3
1 1
3
√4 = 43 and √3 = 32
1 1x 2 2 1 1x 3 3
Convert the powers into like fractions i.e. = = 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 = =
3 3x 2 6 2 2x3 6
1 2 1 1
3 2 )6
√4 = 4 = 4 = (4
3 6 = 16 6
1 3 1 1
√3 = 3 = 3 = (33 ) = 276
2 6 6
1 1
3
Clearly 276 > 166 , therefore √3 > √4

Q8 Solve the Following

A. Compare
6 4 3
(i) √15 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 √12 (ii) √24 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 √35

B. Simplify each of the following

4 2
5 5 √243
(i) √16 𝑥𝑥 √2 (ii) 4 (iii) (3 + √2) (4 + √7) (iv) �√3 − √2�
√3

IMPORTANT POINTS TO REMEMBER

1. For any two positive rational numbers x and y, if √𝑥𝑥 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 �𝑦𝑦 are irrational, then if
√𝑥𝑥 > �𝑦𝑦 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑥𝑥 > 𝑦𝑦 and √𝑥𝑥 < �𝑦𝑦 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑥𝑥 < 𝑦𝑦

2. If 𝑎𝑎 + 𝑏𝑏 √𝑥𝑥 = 𝑐𝑐 + 𝑑𝑑√𝑥𝑥, then a = c and b = d

3. The negative of an irrational number is always irrational.

4. The sum of a rational and irrational number is always irrational.

5. The product of a non-zero rational and irrational number is always irrational.

6. The sum, the difference, the product and the quotient of two irrational numbers need not
be an irrational number.

Page 7/9
 SURDS (RADICALS)

1 1
𝑛𝑛
If x is a positive rational number and n is an integer such that 𝑥𝑥 𝑛𝑛 , i.e. √𝑥𝑥 is irrational, then 𝑥𝑥 𝑛𝑛 is
3
called a surd or a radical. Examples √3, 4√8, √20 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆.

IMPORTANT POINTS

1. Every surd is an irrational number but every irrational number is not a surd.
For example π is an irrational number but not a surd.
1
𝑛𝑛
2. Let a be a rational number and n be a positive number greater than 1, Then √𝑎𝑎 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑎𝑎𝑛𝑛 is
called a surd of order n. Example √3 is a surd of order 2.

RATIONALIZATION

When two surds are multiplied together such that their product is a rational number, the two
surds are called rationalizing factors of each other.

The process of rationalizing a surd by multiplying it with its rationalizing factor is called
Rationalization.

Example (i) 5√2 x 3√2 = 15 x 2 = 30 which is a rational number. Therefore 5√2 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 3√2
are rationalizing factors of each other.

2
(ii) �3 + √5��3 − √5� = 32 − √5 = 9 − 5 = 4 which is a rational number.
Therefore �3 + √5� 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 �3 − √5� are rationalizing factors of each other.

Q9 Solve the Following

Rationalize the denominator of

√3− √2 √6− √5 2 √5 + 3 √2 3
(i) (ii) (iii) (iv)
√3 + √2 √6 + √5 2 √5 − 3 √2 √5 + √2

Solved Example

2+ √3
Find the value of a and b in the equation = 𝑎𝑎 + 𝑏𝑏 √3
2− √3

Page 8/9
 2 2
2+ √3 2+ √3 2+√3 �2+ √3� 22 + 2x 2x √3+ √3 4 + 4√3+ 3
= x = 2 = = = 7 + 4√3
2− √3 2− √3 2+√3 2 2 − √3 4−3 1

Therefore, 𝑎𝑎 + 𝑏𝑏 √3 = 7 + 4√3. This implies a = 7 and b = 4

Q 10 Solve the Following

Find the value of a and b in each of the following

√7− 2 3
(i) = 𝑎𝑎√7 + 6 (ii) = 𝑎𝑎 √3 − 𝑏𝑏 √2
√7 + 2 √3 − √2

5 + 3 √2
(iii) = 𝑎𝑎 + 𝑏𝑏√2
5 − 3 √2

Solved Example
22 17
Simplify +
2√3+1 2√3− 1

22 17 22 2√3− 1 17 2√3+1 22 (2√3−1) 17 (2√3 +1) 44 √3− 22 + 34 √3 + 17

+ = x + x = 2 + 2 =
2√3+1 2√3− 1 2√3+1 2√3− 1 2√3− 1 2√3+1 �2√3� − 12 �2√3� − 12 12−1

78√3 − 5
=
11

Q 11 Solve the Following

4 − √3 4 + √5
A. Evaluate +
4 + √3 4 − √5

1 1 1 1 1
B. Show that − + − + =5
3−2√2 2√2 −√7 √7 −√6 √6 −√5 √5 −2

1 1 1 2
C. If 𝑥𝑥 = 2√3 + 2√2, 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑒 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 , 𝑥𝑥 + , �𝑥𝑥 + �
𝑥𝑥 𝑥𝑥 𝑥𝑥

--------END---------

Page 9/9