Precalculus (6th Edition) Blitzer

Published by Pearson
ISBN 10: 0-13446-914-3
ISBN 13: 978-0-13446-914-0

Chapter P - Section P.3 - Radicals and Rational Exponents - Exercise Set - Page 47: 126

Answer

See explanations.

Work Step by Step

Step 1. Assuming a number $x$ has a rational fifth root, we have $\sqrt[5] x=\frac{m}{n}$, where $m,n$ are integers and $n\ne0$. Step 2. We can solve $x$ to get $x=(\frac{m}{n})^5=\frac{m^5}{n^5}$ Step 3. Thus a number that has rational fifth roots must be rational and can be expressed as a ratio of two integers raised to the fifth power. We can get such numbers by letting $m,n=\pm1,\pm2,\pm3,...$ and trying different combinations.
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