Why is it important to simplify radical expression before adding/subtracting??
First question: Because once simplified, it may end up being a different radical or not a radical at all. It will make your next steps much easier to handle. For example: The 4th root of 36 simplifies to sqrt(6). The 6th root of 64 is 2. Second question: Just as you cannot simplify the addition/subtraction or the multiplication/division of different variables, neither can you do that for different radicals. But just as same variables can be combined together, so can same radicals.
