What is the value of the following expression:
when , and what is it when ?
What is the value of the following expression:
when , and what is it when ?
The function is defined for those for which the expressions under the even roots are non-negative, that is, , and , which together means: for . Noting that , and , so is defined at both specified points.
is positive because all four factors are positive, while in the case of , only the cube root is negative, the other three are positive, so is negative. After this, it is sufficient to calculate the absolute values of the two numbers, for which it is practical to first calculate the power, as this does not require taking a root. The two calculations can be combined because and differ only in the sign of , and the same applies to , , and (in other words, is rational, and therefore the sum of the values of the other three factors at and is also rational). Now,
and the right-hand side, by repeatedly applying the identity , squaring, and recognizing a perfect square in the last factor, transforms as follows:
since 1 stands in the square brackets, and the product of the remaining binomials is also 1. Therefore, and .