Final answer:
The zeros of the function f(x)=x²-10x-56 are found by applying the quadratic formula. Substituting the values into the formula results in two solutions for x, which are -4 and 14. Hence, the smaller x is -4 and the larger x is 14.
Step-by-step explanation:
The zeros of the function f(x)=x²-10x-56 can be found by solving the quadratic equation where f(x) is set to zero. To find the zeros, we will use the quadratic formula which is x = ∛(-b ± √(b² - 4ac)) / 2a. In our equation, a = 1, b = -10, and c = -56.
Substituting these values into the quadratic formula, we get:
x = ∛(10 ± √((-10)² - 4∗(1)∗(-56)) / (2∗1),
x = ∛(10 ± √(100 + 224)) / 2,
x = ∛(10 ± √(324)) / 2,
x = ∛(10 ± 18) / 2,
which gives us two solutions for x:
x = ∛(10 + 18) / 2 = 14
and
x = ∛(10 - 18) / 2 = -4.
Therefore, the smaller x is -4, and the larger x is 14.