SOLUTION: please show how to solve t squared minus seventeen equals 2t

Click here to see ALL problems on Quadratic Equations

Question 238110: please show how to solve t squared minus seventeen equals 2t
Answer by Theo(13342) (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
t^2 - 17 = 2t

subtract 2t from both sides of the equation to get:

t^2 - 2t - 17 = 0

that's a quadratic equation.

it doesn't look like it will factor, so use the quadratic formula to solve it.

the quadratic formula is:

x = -b +/- sqrt(b^2-4ac)/2a

standard form of the quadratic equation is ax^2 + bx + c

in your equation of t^2 - 2t - 17 = 0, replace t with x to make it:

x^2 - 2x - 17 = 0

a = coefficient of x^2 term = 1
b = coefficient of x term = -2
c = constant term = -17

substitute in quadratic formula of:

x = -b +/- sqrt(b^2-4ac)/2a to get:

this becomes

x = 5.242640687 or x = -3.242640687

to confirm these values are true, substitute in the original equation and solve.

both values substituted and confirmed the original equations so the answers are good.

a graph of this equation looks like: