Simplify: $\sqrt{40}$

Step 1 ：The square root of 40 is not a simple integer, but it can be simplified by factoring 40 into its prime factors and pairing them off. The prime factorization of 40 is \(2^3 * 5\). We can pair off the 2's, leaving us with one 2 outside the square root and a 5 still inside.

Step 2 ：So, the simplified form of \(\sqrt{40}\) is \(2\sqrt{10}\).

Step 3 ：The square root of 40 is approximately 6.32, which matches our expectation. However, we want to express this in simplified radical form, not as a decimal. We already determined that the simplified form is \(2\sqrt{10}\).

Step 4 ：Final Answer: \(\boxed{2\sqrt{10}}\)