SOLUTION: Completing the Square What is half of -4y/3 squared? 3y^2-4y-1=0 3y^2/3-4y/3-1/3=0/3 y^2-4y/3=1/3 This is where I get stuck. I'm supposed to take half of -4y/3 and s

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Question 736993: Completing the Square
What is half of -4y/3 squared?
3y^2-4y-1=0
3y^2/3-4y/3-1/3=0/3
y^2-4y/3=1/3 This is where I get stuck.
I'm supposed to take half of -4y/3 and square it.
I'm not quite understanding how to do it. Do you square both -4 and 3 separately? Then it becomes -16y/9?
If you halve it, it becomes -2y/1.5?? Should you not have a decimal or a fraction?

Found 2 solutions by fcabanski, josmiceli:
Answer by fcabanski(1391)   (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Only square half of the coefficient of the y term. Half of -4/3 is -2/3. Square both the numerator and denominator. -2/3 squared is 4/9.





y - 2/3 = + or - = + or -
y = (2 + or - )/3

Hope the solution helped. Sometimes you need more than a solution. Contact fcabanski@hotmail.com for online, private tutoring, or personalized problem solving (quick for groups of problems.)
Answer by josmiceli(19441)   (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!



In this equation, which is for finding the roots,
is called the independent variable.
-------------------
It would be plotted on the horizontal axis,
which is normally the axis.
-------------------
The rule for completing the square is:
Take 1/2 of the co-efficient of the
term ( usually called the term ),
square it, then add it to both sides
-------------------
The co-efficient of the term is
, so


Now square it

Add it to both sides




Take the square root of both sides


and

------------------------
Here's a plot of the entire equation, which can
be expressed as
Note that
and

You can see that these are the horizontal axis crossings
( Unless I messed up )



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