Question

Solve the equation -2(x²) = 5 using any method. Select the solutions.

1) x = -1, x = 1
2) x = -2, x = 2
3) x = -3, x = 3
4) x = -4, x = 4

Answer 1

To solve the equation -2(x²) = 5, divide both sides of the equation by -2 to isolate the variable. Then, solve the resulting quadratic equation using the quadratic formula. The correct solutions are x = -√(5/2) and x = √(5/2).

Step-by-step explanation:

To solve the equation -2(x²) = 5, we can start by dividing both sides of the equation by -2 to isolate the variable.

This gives us x² = -5/2. Since the quadratic equation is in standard form, we can set it equal to 0 and solve using the quadratic formula.

Using the quadratic formula, we have x = (-b ± √(b² - 4ac))/(2a).

Plugging in the values from our equation, we get x = (0 ± √(0 - 4(-5/2)(1)))/(2(1)). Simplifying further, we find that x = ±√(5/2).

So the correct solutions are x = -√(5/2) and x = √(5/2).