Big Ideas Math Algebra 2, 2014
BI
Big Ideas Math Algebra 2, 2014 View details
4. Solving Radical Equations and Inequalities
Continue to next subchapter

Exercise 48 Page 267

Solve the given system of equations using the Substitution Method.

Solutions: (- 4,1) and (- 2,3)
Graph:

Practice makes perfect
Notice that the y-variable is already isolated in Equation (II). Therefore, the most convenient method to solve the given system of equations is the Substitution Method. y^2=4x+17 & (I) y=x+5 & (II) Let's substitute x+5 for y in Equation (I).
y^2=4x+17 & (I) y=x+5 & (II)
( x+5)^2=4x+17 y=x+5
(I): Simplify
x^2+2(5)(x)+5^2=4x+17 y=x+5
x^2+10x+25=4x+17 y=x+5
x^2+6x+25=17 y=x+5
x^2+6x+8=0 y=x+5
Note that in Equation (I) we have a quadratic equation in terms of only the x-variable. There are many ways to solve this type of equation. We will use the Quadratic Formula. Let's determine a, b, and c. x^2+6x+8=0 ⇔ 1x^2+ 6x+ 8=0We see above that a= 1, b= 6, and c= 8. Let's substitute these values into the Quadratic Formula to solve the equation.
x=- b±sqrt(b^2-4ac)/2a
x=- 6±sqrt(6^2-4( 1)( 8))/2( 1)
Simplify right-hand side
x=- 6±sqrt(36-4(1)(8))/2(1)
x=- 6±sqrt(36-32)/2
x=- 6±sqrt(4)/2
x=- 6± 2/2
We can calculate the first root using the positive sign and the second root using the negative sign.
x=- 6± 2/2
x=- 6+ 2/2 x=- 6- 2/2
x=- 2 x=- 4
Now consider Equation (II). y=x+5 We can substitute x=- 2 and x=- 4 into the above equation to find the values for y. Let's start with x=- 2.
y=x+5
y= - 2+5
y=3
We found that y=3 when x=- 2. One solution of the system is (- 2,3). To find the other solution, we will substitute - 4 for x in Equation (II) again.
y=x+5
y= - 4+5
y=1
We found that y=1, when x=- 4. Therefore, our second solution is (- 4,1).

Graphing

Notice that Equation (I) represents a parabola and Equation (II) represents a line. If you need explanations on graphing parabolas, please refer to this example. If you need explanations on graphing lines, please refer to this other example. Let's graph them and mark the points (- 2,3) and (- 4,1)!

Both the parabola and the line intersect at the points (- 2,3) and (- 4,1), which confirms our answer.