Solving Radical Equations - Problem 9

When you are asked to solve an equation involving a square root, there are four key steps: 1.) isolate the radical (meaning un-do whatever is being done to the root in order to get it all by itself), 2.) square both sides of the equation to un-do the root, 3.) solve for x, and 4.) check to make sure your solution makes sense. A solution would be called extraneous if algebraically you didn't make any errors, but your x-value would be violating the rule that whatever is under the square root can not be negative. Check your solutions to make sure they're not outside the domain by substituting them in for x in the original equation.