Mathematics

Schoolteachers will insist that their students present answers to problems with rational (indeed integral) denominators. Never $1/\sqrt3$, for example, but instead $\sqrt3/3$. That's also how math textbooks present answers. I understand why it's important to learn how to rationalize a denominator, why we sometimes want denominators rational. But why should students put every single answer in those terms? What's wrong with presenting a number as $1/\sqrt3$?

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Why always rationalize a denominator?

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