MathExplain Like I'm 5Beginner5.0(1)
Mastering the Radical Sign, a free math course on Tomo

Mastering the Radical Sign

Like Duolingo, but for Mastering the Radical Sign. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.

For the part of you with thirty open tabs that never became anything.

170 levels across 8 sections, about 340 minutes end to end, roughly 68 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Clean Up Your Square Roots, Adding and Subtracting Like a Pro, Multiplying Roots with Ease, Bringing Variables into the Mix, Dividing and Conquering, Fixing Messy Denominators, Advanced Radical Tricks, and The Logic Behind the Roots. It starts from scratch.

170 bite-size levelsAbout 5 minutes each

Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android

Radical Rex, the guide who teaches the Mastering the Radical Sign course
Mastering the Radical Sign
with Radical Rex
170
Levels
8
Sections
5
Min/day
What you'll learn

Key ideas in Mastering the Radical Sign

  • The radical symbol represents the inverse of squaring
  • The index indicates the degree of the root
  • It asks for a number that, when multiplied by itself, equals the radicand
  • The radicand is the value inside the symbol
  • Identifying the parts of a radical expression
  • Perfect squares result from multiplying an integer by itself
  • The radical acts as a grouping container
  • Non-perfect squares result in decimals when rooted
  • Distinguishing between perfect and non-perfect squares
  • Operations inside the root must be addressed before combining with outside terms
  • Multiplication is the inverse check for a square root
  • Squaring a number (greater than 1) increases its value significantly
  • Squaring the result should return the original radicand
  • Taking the square root of a number (greater than 1) decreases its value
  • The grouping nature of the radical symbol
  • The relationship between a number, its square, and its root
Why not just Google it

You've tried the other tabs

Wikipedia

Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.

YouTube

You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.

ChatGPT

One answer, then back to scrolling.

Online courses

Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.

Tomo gives Mastering the Radical Sign the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.

Try a question

Here's what playing it feels like

A real question from this course. Take your best guess.

Meet the Math Mystery Box

What do we call the little number that tells us the 'degree' or strength of the root?

Get it right to open this lesson and 169 more in the app.

Course map

Where Mastering the Radical Sign takes you

Stop being intimidated by square roots and learn to manipulate radicals with confidence. From basic simplification to complex division, you'll learn the step-by-step secrets to making math look easy.

  1. 1

    Clean Up Your Square Roots

    • What is a Radical Anyway?
    • Turning Big Numbers into Mixed Radicals
    • Putting Numbers Back Inside the Root
    • Spotting Perfect Squares Instantly
  2. 2

    Adding and Subtracting Like a Pro

    • Why You Can't Add Different Roots
    • Combining Like Terms with Radicals
    • Simplifying Before You Add
    • Handling Negative Signs Outside the Root
    • The Secret to Multi-Step Addition
  3. 3

    Multiplying Roots with Ease

    • The Product Rule for Radicals
    • Multiplying Numbers Outside and Inside
    • Squaring a Radical Expression
  4. 4

    Bringing Variables into the Mix

    • Square Roots of Letters
    • Dealing with Even and Odd Powers
    • Simplifying Mixed Variable Radicals
    • The Absolute Value Rule for Variables
    • Multiplying Variables Under the Root
    • Adding Variables with Radicals
  5. 5

    Dividing and Conquering

    • The Quotient Rule for Radicals
    • Simplifying Fractions Inside the Root
    • Dividing Coefficients and Radicands
    • Handling Variables in Division
  6. 6

    Fixing Messy Denominators

    • Why We Rationalize the Bottom
    • The One-Step Fix for Simple Roots
    • Rationalizing with Variables
    • Simplifying After You Rationalize
    • Common Mistakes to Avoid
  7. 7

    Advanced Radical Tricks

    • Using the Conjugate to Fix Fractions
    • Multiplying Binomial Radicals
    • The Difference of Squares Shortcut
  8. 8

    The Logic Behind the Roots

    • Radicals as Fractional Exponents
    • Why the Rules Actually Work
    • Higher Roots: Cubes and Beyond
    • Real World Uses for Radicals

8 sections · 34 units · 170 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.

How it's taught

You pick the voice

This course
Explain Like I'm 5

Mastering the Radical Sign is taught in the Explain Like I'm 5 style: no big words. promise.. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.

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Start Mastering the Radical Sign today.

Download Tomo, search Mastering the Radical Sign, and play your first lesson in under a minute.