Divide
4 z²-5) 4x² +7 z² +15(
Answers
Answer:
This page corresponds to § 2.4 (p. 200) of the text.
Suggested Problems from Text:
p. 212 #7, 8, 11, 15, 17, 18, 23, 26, 35, 38, 41, 43, 46, 47, 51, 54, 57, 60, 63, 66, 71, 72, 75, 76, 81, 87, 88, 95, 97
Quadratic Equations
Equations Involving Radicals
Polynomial Equations of Higher Degree
Equations Involving Fractional Expressions or Absolute Values
Quadratic Equations
A quadratic equation is one of the form ax2 + bx + c = 0, where a, b, and c are numbers, and a is not equal to 0.
Factoring
This approach to solving equations is based on the fact that if the product of two quantities is zero, then at least one of the quantities must be zero. In other words, if a*b = 0, then either a = 0, or b = 0, or both. For more on factoring polynomials, see the review section P.3 (p.26) of the text.
Example 1.
2x2 - 5x - 12 = 0.
(2x + 3)(x - 4) = 0.
2x + 3 = 0 or x - 4 = 0.
x = -3/2, or x = 4.
Square Root Principle
If x2 = k, then x = ± sqrt(k).
Example 2.
x2 - 9 = 0.
x2 = 9.
x = 3, or x = -3.
Example 3.
Example 4.
x2 + 7 = 0.
x2 = -7.
x = ± .
Note that = = , so the solutions are
x = ± , two complex numbers.
Completing the Square
The idea behind completing the square is to rewrite the equation in a form that allows us to apply the square root principle.
Example 5.
x2 +6x - 1 = 0.
x2 +6x = 1.
x2 +6x + 9 = 1 + 9.
The 9 added to both sides came from squaring half the coefficient of x, (6/2)2 = 9. The reason for choosing this value is that now the left hand side of the equation is the square of a binomial (two term polynomial). That is why this procedure is called completing the square. [ The interested reader can see that this is true by considering (x + a)2 = x2 + 2ax + a2. To get "a" one need only divide the x-coefficient by 2. Thus, to complete the square for x2 + 2ax, one has to add a2.]
(x + 3)2 = 10.
Now we may apply the square root principle and then solve for x.
x = -3 ± sqrt(10).
Example 6.
2x2 + 6x - 5 = 0.
2x2 + 6x = 5.
The method of completing the square demonstrated in the previous example only works if the leading coefficient (coefficient of x2) is 1. In this example the leading coefficient is 2, but we can change that by dividing both sides of the equation by 2.
x2 + 3x = 5/2.
Now that the leading coefficient is 1, we take the coefficient of x, which is now 3, divide it by 2 and square, (3/2)2 = 9/4. This is the constant that we add to both sides to complete the square.
x2 + 3x + 9/4 = 5/2 + 9/4.
The left hand side is the square of (x + 3/2). [ Verify this!]
(x + 3/2)2 = 19/4.
Now we use the square root principle and solve for x.
x + 3/2 = ± sqrt(19/4) = ± sqrt(19)/2.
x = -3/2 ± sqrt(19)/2 = (-3 ± sqrt(19))/2
So far we have discussed three techniques for solving quadratic equations. Which is best? That depends on the problem and your personal preference. An equation that is in the right form to apply the square root principle may be rearranged and solved by factoring as we see in the next example.
Example 7.
x2 = 16.
x2 - 16 = 0.
(x + 4)(x - 4) = 0.
x = -4, or x = 4.
In some cases the equation can be solved by factoring, but the factorization is not obvious.
The method of completing the square will always work, even if the solutions are complex numbers, in which case we will take the square root of a negative number. Furthermore, the steps necessary to complete the square are always the same, so they can be applied to the general quadratic equation
ax2 + bx + c = 0.
The result of completing the square on this general equation is a formula for the solutions of the equation called the Quadratic Formula.
Quadratic Formula
The solutions for the equation ax2 + bx + c = 0 are