Question 236327
4*(a-5)^2 = 1


divide both sides by 4 to get:


(a-5)^2 = 1/4


take square root of both sides to get


a-5 = +/- sqrt(1/4)


add 5 to both sides to get:


a = 5 +/- sqrt(1/4)


since sqrt(1/4) = (1/2), equation becomes:


a = 5 +/- (1/2)


this means:


a = 5.5
or:
a = 4.5


substitute in original equation to confirm this is good.


4*(a-5)^2 = 1


if a = 4.5, this becomes 4*(-.5)^2 = 1 which becomes 4*(.25) = 1 which becomes 1 = 1 which is good.


if a = 5.5, this becomes 4*(.5)^2 = 1 which becomes 4*(.25) = 1 which becomes 1 = 1 which is also good.


answer is confirmed.


answer is:


x = 4.5
or:
x = 5.5