University:
Everett Community College
Course:
MATH 138 | Applied College Algebra
Academic year:

2010
Views:

65

Pages:

2
Author:

Joyce Guerra

H 10 Steps for Completing the Square The equation must be in ax 2 Solve 2x 2 bx c form and the number in front of x 2 must be a 1. 4x 8 0 2x 2 2 1. Divide by 2 so number in front of x 2 is a 1. Simplify x2 2. Move the constant to the other side of the = sign. (For this problem add 4 to each side) x2 Simplify 4. 1 1 and square (1) 2 2 8 2 0 2 2x 4 0 2x 4 4 0 4 x2 3. Take the number in front of the x and multiply it by 2 4x 2 2x 4 1 2 1 Add the result to both sides of the equation. x2 2x 1 4 1 Simplify x2 2x 1 5 Factor. (The left side will always factor as a Perfect Square.) ( x 1) 2 5 (The number that goes inside the parenthesis is the number you got from step 3 BEFORE you squared it!) 6. Take the square root of each side. ( x 1) 2 7. Simplify each side. x 1 8. Solve for x x 5 5 1 5 Practice Problems 1. 2x 2 4x 2 0 2. 4x 2 12x 1 0 3. 2x 2 5x 2 0 4. 4x x 2 12 Solutions: 1. x 1 2 2. x 3 10 2 3. x 1 , 2 2 4. x = 6, -2