document.write( "Question 89281: Solve by completing the square. \r
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document.write( " x^2 – 16x + 63 = 0
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Algebra.Com's Answer #65002 by bucky(2189)![]() ![]() ![]() You can put this solution on YOUR website! Given: \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "x^2 – 16x + 63 = 0 \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "Solve by completing the square. \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "The first thing to do in completing the square is to make sure that the multiplier of the \n" ); document.write( "x^2 term is 1. If it is not 1, then divide the entire equation (all terms on both sides) by \n" ); document.write( "the multiplier of the x^2 term. In this problem, the multiplier is 1 (it is 1*x^2) \n" ); document.write( "so you don't need to do anything to change it. \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "Next, I like to get rid of the constant term on the left side. In this problem you can do that \n" ); document.write( "by subtracting 63 from both sides. When you do that, the problem becomes: \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "x^2 - 16x = -63 \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "Next look at the multiplier of the x term, divide it by 2, and square that result. \n" ); document.write( "Then add that number to both sides of the equation. In this problem, the multiplier \n" ); document.write( "of the x term is -16. Divide it by 2 and you get -8. Square the -8 and you get + 64. Add \n" ); document.write( "+64 to both sides of the equation and it becomes: \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "x^2 - 16x + 64 = +1 \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "The left side of this equation can be factored because it is a perfect square. When you \n" ); document.write( "factor it, the number part of the factor is half of the multiplier of the x term, in \n" ); document.write( "this case half of -16 which is -8. So the equation factors to: \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "(x - 8)^2 = 1 \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "Take the square root of both sides and you get: \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "x - 8 = ± 1 \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "Finally, add +8 to both sides to get rid of the -8 on the left side: \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "x = 8 ± 1 \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "So the two answers to this problem are x = 8 + 1 = 9 and x = 8 - 1 = 7. \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "These two answers (x = 9 and x = 7) are what you were looking to find. \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "You can check them out by multiplying (x - 9) times (x - 7) and make sure the result is \n" ); document.write( "the same as the original equation you were given. \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "Hope this process helps you to understand the process. \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( " |