Question

Solve this question:. x² = -169

Answer 1

`x\text{ = 13i or 13}√(-1)`

Step-by-step explanation

We want to solve the equation:

`x^2\text{ = -169}`

To do this we will find the square root of both sides:

`√(x^2)\text{ = }√(-169)`

Because we can't find the square root of a negative number, we have to split the number:

`\begin{gathered} x\text{ = }\sqrt{-1\cdot\text{ 169}} \\ x\text{ = }\sqrt{-1\text{ }}\cdot\text{ }√(169) \\ x\text{ = }\sqrt{-1\text{ }}\cdot\text{ 13} \\ x\text{ = 13}√(-1)\text{ or better written as 13i} \end{gathered}`

Note: i is referred to as unit complex number.