Question

Jillian and Josie are trying to find the value of the function, 8x^4-12x^3+3x^2-7x+4 at x=-1. Jillian says the only way to find the answer is to plug in -1. Josie says, no, there is another way. Who is right? Justify your answer.

Answer 1

Josie is correct.

Explanation:

There are other ways of finding the value of the function at x = 1.

For example, one way would be graphing or using a graphing device to graph the function. Once graphed, looking for the y-value where x = 1 would also provide the answer.