Rationalizing the denominator (1 Viewer)

[Danmiff]

does anybody know if we have to rationalise the denominator if the answer has a surd for denominator for the 2U maths paper?
i keep forgetting to do it in practice papers... so it'd be nice to know that it didn't matter
cheers

 

[hermand]

i generally don't [but i do 4unit and marks are generally allocated for the concepts and technique rather than whether the answer is rationalised or not], and it shouldn't matter, but some teachers get really picky [like the one where i wrote my answer as ln3-ln2 instead of ln(3/2) and got it wrong, even though there was no talk about simplifying the result]. it's ridiculous but to be safe, esp in two unit, i'd do it.

 

[mirakon]

Rationalising the denominator is often considered necessary by some teachers (harsh, but hey, we can't do much about it). You should definitely rationalise the denominator at all times, when practising doing exercises etc. just to get used to it and so you don't miss out on marks because you accidentally forgot to.

Also, even if it is not necessary I can guarantee a teacher would be in a better mood for marking the rest of your paper if you rationalised the denominator (eg. they may be more lenient in marking in case you are unneat in other places. In addition, they may be all annoyed if you don't and choose to deduct marks for 'unneatness' in other parts of your exam.)