TITLE: Why isn't $\sqrt{64x^4y^8z^6}$ equal to $8x^2y^4z^3$?
QUESTION [5 upvotes]: I simplified $$\sqrt{64x^4y^8z^6}$$ by taking the square root of $64$ (getting $8$), $x^4$ (getting $x^2$), $y^8$ (getting $y^4$), and $z^6$ (getting $z^3$). My answer, $8x^2y^4z^3$, not quite right and I am having a hard time understanding why not.
I even placed the problem into WolframAlpha.com (here) and got the same answer, which was really confusing. Any pointers of what I might be doing wrong?

REPLY [2 votes]: It’s conventional for $\sqrt n$ to give you the positive square root of $n$, but in this case they might be expecting you to give the answer in the form $\pm {8x^2y^4z^3}$