What is essential to remember when simplifying a cube root compared to a square
root?

The cube root of a number x is the length of the side of a cube whose volume is x cubic units.

The square root of a number x is the length of the side of a square whose area is x square units.

Hence the words ‘cube’ and ‘square’.

Mathematicians have then generalized these two concepts for when x is not necessarily a volume of a cube or an area of a square