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MathsCBSE Class 10 · Standard · Sample paper, session 2026-27 · 3 marks · Short answer

CBSE Class 10 Mathematics Standard sample paper 2026-27: question 26

From the official CBSE sample question paper for 2026-27, section C, question 26, for 3 marks. Try it first; the hints and our step-by-step solution are below.

Q26 · 3 marks · Short answerReal Numbers

Given that is an irrational number, prove that is an irrational number.

Source: official sample paper from cbseacademic.nic.in (PDF). See it in the full Sample paper 2026-27.

Hints

Open one hint at a time and try again before the next.

Hint 1

Use proof by contradiction: start by assuming is rational.

Hint 2

Write and rearrange to make the subject. What kind of number is the right-hand side?

Step-by-step solution

Each step shows the marks it earns, as an examiner would award them. Checked by an independent re-solve from the question paper.

  1. Suppose, on the contrary, that is rational.

    Then , where are integers and .

    So , which gives .

    1 mark
  2. Since and are integers, and are integers, with .

    So is rational, and therefore would be rational.

    1 mark
  3. This contradicts the given fact that is irrational. So our assumption is false.

    Hence is irrational.

    1 mark

Answer: Proved: is irrational.

Where the marks are

  • Assumes the number is rational, writes it as and isolates (1 mark)
  • Argues that is rational, so would be rational (1 mark)
  • States the contradiction and concludes the number is irrational (1 mark)

Revise the chapter

The question is transcribed from the official paper; figures are described in words. The solution, hints and chapter tag are ours. Spotted an error? Write tosupport@questionbuddy.in.