Definition of the Index of a Radical Expression
Description
A detailed tutorial on the definition of the index of a radical expression. Step by step tutorial including several examples of the index of a radical expression for reference.
Overview
A radical expression is what most people know as a square root. The number, variable, or expression inside the square root symbol is referred to as the radicand. What some of you may not realize is that not only are there square roots, there are cube roots, and several other types of roots. These are the exact opposite functions of the exponents. A square root should technically have a little number two on the outside left of the square root symbol. A cube root would have a three there – any number can go there. That is the index.
![\scriptstyle \sqrt[n]{ab+2}](http://s.wordpress.com/latex.php?latex=%5Cscriptstyle%20%5Csqrt%5Bn%5D%7Bab%2B2%7D&bg=ffffff&fg=000000&s=0 "\scriptstyle \sqrt[n]{ab+2}")
. In this expression, the radicand is ab + 2, because that is what we are taking the square root of.