Simplify the expression. Do not assume the variables represent positive numbers.
√64a^2
±8a
To simplify the expression √64a^2, we can use the properties of radicals.
The first step is to rewrite the expression as the product of separate radicals, where one represents the square root of 64 and the other represents the square root of a^2.
√64a^2 = √64 * √a^2
Next, we simplify each individual radical. The square root of 64 is 8 because 8 * 8 = 64. The square root of a^2 is simply a because the square root undoes the squaring operation.
Therefore, √64a^2 simplifies to 8a.