How do you find all the zeros of f(x) = 9x^3 - 45x^2 + 36x?

1 Answer
Apr 9, 2016

x = 0, 1, 4

Explanation:

Factorise f(x) by taking out 9x, the greatest common factor, and going from there,

f(x) = 9x^3 - 45x^2 + 36x
= 9x(x^2 - 5x + 4)
= 9x(x - 4)(x - 1)

One of these three parts has to equal 0 for the whole thing to be 0, so you'll end up with three answers.

9x = 0
x = 0/9 = 0

x - 4 = 0
x = 4

x - 1 = 0
x = 1

and you've got your answers.