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History and Applications of Surds

Surds were invented in 1150 BC by Gherardo of Cremona to find the diagonal of a square using Pythagoras' theorem. Surds represent irrational numbers like √2 and √3. Laws state that surds can be multiplied, divided, and represented in exponential form but cannot be added or subtracted directly. Surds are essential in fields like computer programming, architecture, trigonometry, differential equations, and statistics.

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75 views10 pages

History and Applications of Surds

Surds were invented in 1150 BC by Gherardo of Cremona to find the diagonal of a square using Pythagoras' theorem. Surds represent irrational numbers like √2 and √3. Laws state that surds can be multiplied, divided, and represented in exponential form but cannot be added or subtracted directly. Surds are essential in fields like computer programming, architecture, trigonometry, differential equations, and statistics.

Uploaded by

richajha
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

SURDS

Fun fact: Surds was invented by a European mathematician, Gherardo of Cremona, in


1150 BC. He used the Pythagoras theorem to find the diagonal of a square and the
value of the first surd. He termed this value ‘voiceless’ because the root value had no
meaning at that time.
Definition of a surd
2 and 3 , etc are irrational numbers which are in surd form.

Laws:
a  b = ab

a a
a b = =
b b

The special case:


a a =a
Applications of surds
• Surds are essential in computer programming

• They play a vital role in designing buildings and architecture

• They are helpful in Pythagoras theorem and trigonometric


calculations

• Surds are used to maintain algebraic fluency

• They are used in differential equations, Fourier series,


differential and computational geometry, probability, and
statistics
Rules of surds
• Surds cannot be added. √a+√b ≠ √(a+b)
We can add such surds - m√a+n√a = (m+n)√a
3√5+2√5 = 5√5

• Surds cannot be subtracted. √a−√b ≠ √(a−b)

• Surds can be multiplied. √a×√b = √(a×b)

• Surds can be divided. √a / √b = √(a/b)

• Surds can be represented in exponential form. √a=a¹/²,


n√a=a¹/ⁿ
Example

a) Simplify 8

b) Hence simplify (i) 8 + 32 − 50

(ii) 8 × 72

a) 8 = 4 × 2 = 2 2
72 = 36 × 2 = 6 2
b) 32= 16 × 2 = 4 2
50 = 25 × 2 = 5 2 8 × 72 = 2 2 × 6 2

8 + 32 − 50 = 2 2 + 4 2 − 5 2 =2×6× 2× 2
= 12 × 2
= 2
= 24

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