This is correct (and even a good starting point) altho you cannot assume that r is nonzero.
I assume it's because its what we're trying to get to?
Continuing from what I wrote earlier, we square both sides to get (a*sqrt(2)+ b*sqrt(3) + c*sqrt(5))^2 = r^2.
Expanded, this is 2ab*sqrt(6) + 2ac*sqrt(10) + 2bc*sqrt(15) + 2a^2 + 3b^2 + 5c^2 + 2ab*sqrt(6) + 2ac*sqrt(10) + 2bc*sqrt(15),
simplifying we get 2ab*sqrt(6) + 2ac*sqrt(10) + 2bc*sqrt(15) + 2a^2 + 3b^2 + 5c^2 = r^2.
r^2 is rational because r is rational, this equation implies that the sum of rational numbers 2a^2, 3b^2, and 5c^2, and the sum of irrational numbers 2ab*sqrt(6), 2ac*sqrt(10), and 2bc*sqrt(15), must also be rational. We know that 2a^2, 3b^2, and 5c^2 and its sum is rational.
However, for any rational number x, the product of an irrational number y and x is always irrational, unless if y is zero. Thus, for the irrational terms 2ab*sqrt(6), 2ac*sqrt(10), and 2bc*sqrt(15) to combine to a rational sum, each of the coefficients a, b, and c must be zero. This means that a = b = c = 0, contradicting our initial assumption which was that a, b, and c are non-zero. We can simply input 0 to prove the other side of the "iff" part.
Therefore this means that a*sqrt(2) + b*sqrt(3) + c*sqrt(5) is rational if and only if a = b = c = 0.
It's indeed possible to prove this utilizing matrices, altho it's somewhat overkill in this case. For the bonus question, however...
I think using the properties of linear independence would be suffice for this problem, since you cant express it as a combination of one using rational constants it is therefore linear independent and linear independence signifies that all the variables is equal to 0, thus a = b = c = d = 0. Is the formal proof along the lines of this logic?