Chapter 1: Problem 52
Find the real solutions of each equation. $$ (2-x)^{2}+(2-x)-20=0 $$
Short Answer
Expert verified
The solutions are x = 7 and x = -2.
Step by step solution
01
- Substitute y
Let us denote the expression (2-x) as y . This substitution simplifies our equation to a quadratic form: y^2 + y - 20 = 0 .
02
- Factor the quadratic equation
We need to factor the quadratic equation y^2 + y - 20 = 0 . We look for two numbers that multiply to -20 and add up to 1 . These numbers are 5 and -4 . Hence, we can rewrite the equation as (y + 5)(y - 4) = 0 .
03
- Solve for y
Set each factor equal to zero to find the values of y : y + 5 = 0 gives y = -5 , and y - 4 = 0 gives y = 4 .
04
- Substitute back x
Recall that y = 2 - x . Substitute y back into the equations y = -5 and y = 4 to solve for x: 2 - x = -5 gives x = 7 , and 2 - x = 4 gives x = -2 .
05
- Verify the solutions
Substitute x = 7 and x = -2 back into the original equation to check if they satisfy it: For x = 7 , (2 - 7)^2 + (2 - 7) - 20 = 25 - 5 - 20 = 0 , which is true, and for x = -2 , (2 - (-2))^2 + (2 - (-2)) - 20 = 16 + 4 - 20 = 0 , which is also true.
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Key Concepts
These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.
Factoring Quadratics
Quadratic equations often appear in the form ax^2 + bx + c = 0 . To solve them by factoring, we need to express the quadratic equation as a product of two binomials set to zero. For our example, after the substitution method, we got the equation y^2 + y - 20 = 0 . Here is how we factor it step-by-step:
- Identify two numbers that multiply to the constant term (-20) and add up to the coefficient of the linear term (1). Those numbers are 5 and -4.
- Rewrite the quadratic equation using these two numbers: (y + 5)(y - 4) = 0 .
- Set each factor equal to zero: y + 5 = 0 and y - 4 = 0 .
- Solve for y : y = -5 and y = 4 .
Substitution Method
The substitution method is particularly useful when the quadratic equation is not initially in the standard form ax^2 + bx + c = 0 . In our example, we started with the equation (2 - x)^2 + (2 - x) - 20 = 0 . To simplify this, we used substitution as follows:
- Let y = 2 - x . This transforms the equation: y^2 + y - 20 = 0 .
- We then solved y^2 + y - 20 = 0 as a quadratic equation.
- After solving, we obtained y = -5 and y = 4 , and substituted back y = 2 - x to find x .
- This yielded: 2 - x = -5 which led to x = 7 and 2 - x = 4 which led to x = -2 .
Verification of Solutions
Verification of solutions ensures that the solutions we find actually satisfy the original equation. Here’s how to verify:
- Substitute each solution back into the original equation: For x = 7 : Replace x with 7 in the equation (2 - 7)^2 + (2 - 7) - 20 = 0 .
Calculating, we get (-5)^2 - 5 - 20 = 0 , which simplifies to 25 - 5 - 20 = 0 , confirming x = 7 as a valid solution. - Similarly for x = -2 : Replace x with -2 in the equation: (2 - (-2))^2 + (2 - (-2)) - 20 = 0 .
Calculating, we get (4)^2 + 4 - 20 = 0 which simplifies to 16 + 4 - 20 = 0 , confirming x = -2 as a valid solution.