Give this hands-on activity a try for a fun way to practice simplifying radicals with variables. Students will need to "attend to precision" because several of the problems and answer choices are similar - forcing students to really focus on their exponents and see the difference between having x^3 inside a radical and x^4. Students will also see what happens when radicals have a coefficient in front.

This activity promotes active engagement and mathematical discussions as students work together to match their problems and answers and solve the puzzle. If they solve the problem correctly, they find the answer piece and continue working, but if they don’t, they must help to correct the mistake before they can move on. Students will create problem solving techniques as they work through this activity. The puzzle pieces are jumbled so you can have students cut them out without seeing the answers. This product also includes a table of all the problems included, which can be given to students who are absent or who need this type of accommodation. This activity is great for math centers, stations and rotations or whole group instruction.

This activity pairs well with If you like this product, check out my Simplify Radical Expressions Coloring Activity!