Can you help me out with this algebra ? ?

Question

If you have square root of (x^2-4), is it the same as square root of (x^2) - square root of (4) which would equal x - 2?

Answer 1

NO, (x^2-4) can not be simplified.

Answer 2

NO!

check it...

√(9 - 4) = 3 - 2 = 1? no

√(9 - 4) = √5 = 2.236...

you cannot simplify √(x² - 4)

Answer 3

No, you cannot simplify square roots with addition or subtraction in them. The square root of (x^2 - 4) cannot be simplified.

To put it into context for you, I'll give an example. Say that x = 8, so:

sqrt(8^2 - 4) = sqrt(64 - 4) = sqrt(60) = 7.75...

It is not the same as:

sqrt(8^2) - sqrt(4) = 8 - 2 = 8

Answer 4

NO, you can't separate that square root like that