How do you solve x^2 - x = 42?

1 Answer
Mar 15, 2016

The solutions are:
x = 7

x=-6

Explanation:

x^2 - x =42

x^2 - x - 42 =0

The equation is of the form color(blue)(ax^2+bx+c=0 where:

a=1, b=-1, c=-42

The Discriminant is given by:

Delta=b^2-4*a*c

= (-1)^2-(4*1* -42)

= 1 + 168=169

The solutions are found using the formula
x=(-b+-sqrtDelta)/(2*a)

x = (-(-1)+-sqrt(169))/(2*1) = (1+-13)/2

x= (1+13)/2 = 14/2 = 7

x= (1-13)/2 = -12/2 =-6