A rational number (or fraction) is represented as a ratio between two integers, a and b, and has the form \({a \over b}\) where a is the numerator and b is the denominator. An improper fraction (\({5 \over 3} \)) has a numerator with a greater absolute value than the denominator and can be converted into a mixed number (\(1 {2 \over 3} \)) which has a whole number part and a fractional part.

The greatest common factor (GCF) is the greatest factor that divides two integers.

The commutative property states that, when adding or multiplying numbers, the order in which they're added or multiplied does not matter. For example, 3 + 4 and 4 + 3 give the same result, as do 3 x 4 and 4 x 3.

To add these radicals together their radicands must be the same:

3\( \sqrt{32} \) + 9\( \sqrt{2} \)
3\( \sqrt{16 \times 2} \) + 9\( \sqrt{2} \)
3\( \sqrt{4^2 \times 2} \) + 9\( \sqrt{2} \)
(3)(4)\( \sqrt{2} \) + 9\( \sqrt{2} \)
12\( \sqrt{2} \) + 9\( \sqrt{2} \)

Now that the radicands are identical, you can add them together:

A number with an exponent (b^e) consists of a base (b) raised to a power (e). The exponent indicates the number of times that the base is multiplied by itself. A base with an exponent of 1 equals the base (b¹ = b) and a base with an exponent of 0 equals 1 ( (b⁰ = 1).