How do I rationalised and simplify surds?

Say I have a fraction with 2 surds, such as √10 / √6. To rationalise this, we need to get the dominator (bottom fraction) to be an integer. As √10 / √6 x 1 still gives √10 / √6, and we can write 1 as √6 / √6, we can do (√10 / √6) x (√6 / √6) = √(10 x 6) / 6 = √60 / 6.

This is now rationalised, as the demonator is no longer a surd, however it is not in its simplest form yet. To get this we can simplify √60 to give √(4 x 15) = √4 x √15 = 2√15. In the fraction this gives 2√15 / 6 which cancels down to √15 / 3.

TG
Answered by Tabitha G. Maths tutor

4504 Views

See similar Maths GCSE tutors

Related Maths GCSE answers

All answers ▸

How do I expand (x+a)(x+b)? (plus example)


Solve the simultaneous equations algebraically


James buys a new car for £1000. Every year the value of the car decreases by 3%. If James bought the car in 2017 what would the value of the car be in 2021?


How would I find the nth term of this sequence? 15, 18, 21, 24, ...


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning