McGraw Hill Glencoe Algebra 2, 2012
MH
McGraw Hill Glencoe Algebra 2, 2012 View details
8. Quadratic Inequalities
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Exercise 43 Page 286

Solve the related quadratic equation, plot the solutions on a number line, and test a value from each interval.

Practice makes perfect

To solve the quadratic inequality algebraically, we will follow three steps.

  1. Solve the related quadratic equation.
  2. Plot the solutions on a number line.
  3. Test a value from each interval to see if it satisfies the original inequality.

Step

We will start by solving the related equation.
We see above that and Let's substitute these values into the Quadratic Formula to solve the equation.
Simplify right-hand side
Now we can calculate the first root using the positive sign and the second root using the negative sign.

Step

The solutions of the related equation are approximately and Let's plot them on a number line. Since the original is a strict inequality, the points will be open.

Step

Finally, we must test a value from each interval to see if it satisfies the original inequality. Let's choose a value from the first interval, For simplicity, we will choose
Simplify left-hand side
Since did not produce a true statement, the interval is not part of the solution. Similarly, we can test the other two intervals.
Interval Test Value Statement Is It Part of the Solution?
Yes
No
We can now write the solution set and show it on a number line.