Final answer:
The x-intercepts of the equation y = 2x^2 - 16x + 14 are found by completing the square and solving the resulting equation, which gives the intercepts at (1,0) and (7,0).
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is asked to find the x-intercepts for the quadratic equation y = 2x^2 - 16x + 14 by completing the square. To find the x-intercepts, we set y to zero and rearrange the terms to facilitate completing the square:
- Divide all terms by the leading coefficient 2 to simplify: x^2 - 8x + 7 = 0.
- Move the constant term to the other side: x^2 - 8x = -7.
- Add the value (b/2)^2 = (8/2)^2 = 16 to both sides to complete the square: x^2 - 8x + 16 = 9.
- Now we have a perfect square on the left: (x - 4)^2 = 9.
- Take the square root of both sides: x - 4 = ±3.
- Solve for x: x = 4 ± 3, so the solutions are x = 7 and x = 1.
These solutions represent the x-intercepts of the quadratic equation, which are (1,0) and (7,0).