Big Ideas Math Geometry, 2014
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Big Ideas Math Geometry, 2014 View details
Maintaining Mathematical Proficiency
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Exercise 12 Page 527

To complete the square, make sure all the variable terms are on one side of the equation. Then, divide both sides of the equation by a so the coefficient of z^2 is 1.

z=1

Practice makes perfect

We want to solve the quadratic equation by completing the square. Note that all terms with z are on one side of the equation.

- z^2+ 2z=1

Now let's divide each side by - 1 so the coefficient of z^2 will be 1.
- z^2+ 2z=1
- z^2+ 2z/- 1=1/- 1
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Simplify left-hand side
- z^2/-1+2z/-1=1/-1
- 1/-1z^2+2/-1z=1/-1
z^2-2z=- 1
In a quadratic expression, b is the linear coefficient. For the equation above, we have that b=- 2. Let's now calculate ( b2 )^2.
( b/2 )^2
( - 2/2 )^2
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Simplify
( - 1 )^2
1
Next, we will add ( b2 )^2=1 to both sides of our equation. Then, we will factor the trinomial on the left-hand side and solve the equation.
z^2-2z=- 1
z^2-2z+ 1 = - 1 + 1
(z-1)^2 = - 1 +1
(z-1)^2 = 0
sqrt((z-1)^2)=sqrt(0)
z-1 = 0
z=1
The solution of the equation is z=1.