Square root fun

[cherica123]

Hey, having a little trouble with this review question....I dunno if theres a fancy way to make the square root symbol, so I apologize if there is. I just went with the old-fashioned 'sqrt'

sqrt(s) - sqrt(s-8) = 2


The path I tried taking after a few hours of spacing out was to move the sqrt(s) to the other side then square each side, which i thought would undo the sqrt on the left side and then allow me to FOIL the right side, but either my algebra skills are rusty or it was the wrong path, cause it got messy. Square roots have never been my strong point and I'm not sure what to do with this one, so if you could point me in the right direction, I think I could go from there. Thanks!


EDIT: By the way, the answer in my book says 9

 

[tkhunny]

You were right. Do it again.

Isolate one "sqrt"
Square everything

If your algebra skills are weak, fix them. You will need them here.
If you don't like things messy, get used to it. You will need it.

Isolate the remainign "sqrt"
Square everything again.

Sometimes, you just have to wade through it. Go without fear!! It's only an equation. You can't break it and it won't bite you.

 

[cherica123]

EDIT: nevermind, I got it!