🚀 go-pugleaf

 Charles: 
You said "I thought that sqrt(y+5) was the same as sqrt(y) + sqrt(5)...."
This is the trouble spot. Try it with all numbers:
Is sqrt(9) + sqrt(16) equal to sqrt(9+16)? Only if you can convince
me that 3 + 4  is 5.
You don't say what level of mathematics you are studying, but
it might be a good idea if you were to read a short section
in an Alg I book which discusses square roots and how to
work with them. Sometimes strange thjings happen.
Try this one:     sqrt(9)  TIMES  sqrt(16). Is it sqrt(9 x 16) ?
Hmmm... 
The above also suggests something you can try if you aren't
sure if one expression is always equal to another: make up
a similar expression using plain ol' numbers and see if it "works"
If it does NOT then you KNOW you can't use it generally,
and if it DOES work you can feel safer about using it. But
beware you may have simply "gotten lucky" and
chosen some numbers where it happened to work. This
is why we need to come up with the idea of PROVING
things in math. and BTW, proving things is NOT just
something you do in geometry class.
Cheers.
mike bolduan

bolduan@catlin
bolduan@catseq.catlin.edu
-- 
mike bolduan
bolduan@catlin