Page:The Algebra of Mohammed Ben Musa (1831).djvu/47

 thrice the root of four, then take twice the root of nine, according to the rule above given, so that you may know the root of what square it is. You do the same with respect to the three roots of four in order to know what must be the square of such a root. You then multiply these two squares, the one by the other, and the root of the product is equal to twice the root of nine, multiplied by thrice the root of four.

You proceed in this manner with all positive or negative roots.

Demonstrations.

The argument for the root of two hundred, minus ten, added to twenty, minus the root of two hundred, may be elucidated by a figure:

Let the line A B represent the root of two hundred; let the part from A to the point C be the ten, then the remainder of the root of two hundred will correspond to the remainder of the line A B, namely to the line C B. Draw now from the point B a line to the point D, to represent twenty; let it, therefore, be twice as long as the line A C, which represents ten; and mark a part of it from the point B to the point H, to be equal to the line A B, which represents the root of two hundred; then the remainder of the twenty will be equal to the part of the line, from the point H to the point D. As