Determine if the number $ \sqrt{8+2\sqrt{10+2\sqrt{5}}} - \sqrt{8-2\sqrt{10+2\sqrt{5}}} $ is rational

383 Views Asked by At

$ \sqrt{8+2\sqrt{10+2\sqrt{5}}} - \sqrt{8-2\sqrt{10+2\sqrt{5}}} $

I have tried to raising it to the square, but I can't obtain the result.

$ \sqrt{8+2\sqrt{10+2\sqrt{5}}} - \sqrt{8-2\sqrt{10+2\sqrt{5}}}= k $

$ 2\sqrt{10+2\sqrt{5}} -2\sqrt{10+2\sqrt{5}} = k^2 $

$2(\sqrt{(10+2\sqrt{5})(10-2\sqrt{5}})=2\sqrt{80}=8\sqrt{5}=k^2$

Is this a good lead?

@EDIT one more thing, how to show that $ \sqrt{8+2\sqrt{10+2\sqrt{5}}} + \sqrt{8-2\sqrt{10+2\sqrt{5}}} $ equals to $\sqrt{10}+\sqrt{2}$

1

There are 1 best solutions below

3
On BEST ANSWER

So, your steps aren't quite valid; if you have a statement of the form $$ \sqrt{a} - \sqrt{b} = c $$

Then, while it's true that $$ \left(\sqrt a - \sqrt b\right)^2 = c^2 $$

this unfortunately doesn't simplify to $$ a - b = c^2 $$

rather, you get $$ a - 2\sqrt a\sqrt b + b = c^2 $$

(check this by "foil"-ing).

What is true however, is that

$$ (\sqrt a - \sqrt b)(\sqrt a + \sqrt b) = a - b $$ (again, check by "foil"-ing), and that $\sqrt a - \sqrt b$ is rational if and only if $\sqrt a + \sqrt b$ is (and so, as a consequence of this assumption, $a - b$ would be rational as well).

So

$$\left(\sqrt{8+2\sqrt{10+2\sqrt{5}}} - \sqrt{8-2\sqrt{10+2\sqrt{5}}}\right)\left(\sqrt{8+2\sqrt{10+2\sqrt{5}}} + \sqrt{8-2\sqrt{10+2\sqrt{5}}}\right)\\ = 8+2\sqrt{10+2\sqrt{5}} - (8-2\sqrt{10+2\sqrt{5}})\\ = 4\sqrt{10+2\sqrt{5}}$$

Now, you might try squaring things.