I am a freshman in College and I am in Intermediate Algebra and I am trying to solve rational exponents and radical expressions. Can you please help me???

Question

anonymous · Answer

Sure.

anonymous · Answer

this is the problem I am working on maybe you can help me with it, 27 1/3 needs to be simplified

anonymous · Answer

$$27^{1/3}$$

anonymous · Answer

I guess the answer the teacher gave us was first you simplify it to $$\sqrt[3\sqrt{27}]{?}$$ and the end result answer was 3, How does that work???

anonymous · Answer

Okay, so if I have an exponent that is a fraction, the top number works like a regular power, but the bottom number becomes like a ROOT. So, in general, I have:
$$x^{a/b} = \sqrt[b]{x^{a}}$$

anonymous · Answer

yea that's the way it was explained I guess, but the answer is 3, and so I am trying to figure out how to solve these rational and radical expressions

anonymous · Answer

Well, do you see how 27^(1/3) gives me
$$\sqrt[3]{27}$$

anonymous · Answer

The 1 in the top is my power, but a power of 1 doesn't do anything special. The 3 in the bottom gives me my root.

precal · Answer

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