I am given this expression and asked to simplify by rationalizing the denominator:
$$\frac{7}{2+\sqrt{3}}$$
The solution is provided:
$14 – 7\sqrt{3}$
I was able to get to this in the numerator but am left with a 4 in the denominator. Here are my steps:
$$\frac{7}{2+\sqrt{3}} * \frac{2-\sqrt{3}}{2-\sqrt{3}}$$
=
$$\frac{14 – 7\sqrt{3}}{4}$$
Presumably I should not have a denominator here since the solution I'm given is just whats in the numerator. Presumably my numerator calculation is correct, where did I go wrong on the denominator?
Best Answer
Note that $\left(2+\sqrt3\right)\times\left(2-\sqrt3\right)=4-3=1$.