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| Math Central | Quandaries & Queries |
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Question from Manny: Hello, Can you explain why this is wrong: We can show the same with other numbers : Thank you |
Hi Manny,
The problem is the very last step. $1^{1/2}$ is any number $x$ such that $x \times x = 1.$ Both $x=1$ and $x=-1$ satisfy $x \times x = 1.$ Thus $1^{1/2} = \pm 1.$
I hope this helps,
Penny
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