Chapter 9: Problem 77
Solve by completing the square. $$x^{2}-20 x=21$$
Short Answer
Expert verified
The solutions are \(x = 21\) and \(x = -1\).
Step by step solution
01
Rewrite the equation
Start by moving the constant term to the other side of the equation: \(x^2 - 20x - 21 = 0\) becomes \(x^2 - 20x = 21\)
02
Identify the coefficient of the linear term
Identify the coefficient of the linear term, which is the term with \(x\): Here, the coefficient is -20.
03
Compute half of the coefficient and square it
Take half of the coefficient of \(x\), then square it: \text{Half of -20} = -10 \text{Square of -10} = 100
04
Add and subtract the square inside the equation
Add and subtract 100 inside the equation to complete the square: \(x^2 - 20x + 100 - 100 = 21\) This simplifies to: \((x^2 - 20x + 100) - 100 = 21\)
05
Rewrite the left side as a perfect square
Express the left side as a square of a binomial: \((x - 10)^2 - 100 = 21\)
06
Isolate the squared term
Solve for the squared term by moving -100 to the right side: \((x - 10)^2 = 21 + 100\) Simplifying this gives: \((x - 10)^2 = 121\)
07
Take the square root of both sides
Take the square root of both sides of the equation: \(x - 10 = \text{±} \text{√121}\)
08
Solve for x
Solve for \(x\) by isolating it: \(x - 10 = \text{±} 11\) \(x = 10 + 11\) or \(x = 10 - 11\) \(x = 21\) or \(x = -1\)
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Key Concepts
These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.
quadratic equations
Quadratic equations are mathematical expressions of the form \(ax^2 + bx + c = 0\), where \(a\), \(b\), and \(c\) are constants. In the given exercise, we have the equation \(x^2 - 20x = 21\). Quadratic equations can be solved using various methods, such as:
- Factoring
- Using the quadratic formula \( \frac{-b \text{±} \text{√(b^2-4ac)}}{2a} \)
- Completing the square
perfect square trinomial
A perfect square trinomial is a quadratic expression that can be written as the square of a binomial. For example, \((x - 10)^2\) represents a perfect square trinomial. In the process of completing the square, we add and subtract a term to transform the quadratic equation into a perfect square trinomial. Here’s how:
- Start with the equation: \(x^2 - 20x = 21\)
- Identify the coefficient of \(x\), which is -20.
- Take half of this coefficient: \(\frac{-20}{2} = -10\)
- Square this result: \((-10)^2 = 100\)
- Add and subtract this square inside the equation: \(x^2 - 20x + 100 - 100 = 21\).
- Rewrite it as: \((x - 10)^2 - 100 = 21\).
solving equations
Once we have completed the square and obtained the equation \((x - 10)^2 = 121\), the next step is to solve for \(x\). Here's the step-by-step process:
- Isolate the squared term: \((x - 10)^2 = 121\)
- Take the square root of both sides: \(x - 10 = \text{±} \text{√121}\)
- This gives us two equations: \(x - 10 = 11\) and \(x - 10 = -11\)
- Solve for \(x\): For the first equation: \(x = 21\); for the second equation: \(x = -1\)