McGraw Hill Integrated II, 2012
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McGraw Hill Integrated II, 2012 View details
2. Solving Quadratic Equations by Graphing
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Exercise 20 Page 108

Make sure the equation is written in standard form. Identify the related function and graph it.

Solutions: Ø
Graph:

Practice makes perfect

We are asked to solve the given quadratic equation. We will solve it by graphing. There are three steps to solve a quadratic equation by graphing.

  1. Write the equation in standard form, ax^2+bx+c=0.
  2. Graph the related function f(x)=ax^2+bx+c.
  3. Find the x-intercepts, if any.
The solutions, or roots, of ax^2+bx+c=0 are the x-intercepts of the graph of f(x)=ax^2+bx+c. Let's write our equation in standard form. This means gathering all of the terms on the left-hand side of the equation. -3x^2 + 2x = 15 ⇕ -3x^2 + 2x - 15 = 0 Now we can identify the function related to the equation.

Equation:& -3x^2 + 2x - 15 = 0 Related Function:& f(x)= -3x^2 + 2x - 15

Graphing the Related Function

To draw the graph of the related quadratic function written in standard form, we must start by identifying the values of a, b, and c. f(x)= - 3x^2+2x-15=0 ⇕ f(x)= - 3x^2+ 2x+( - 15) We can see that a= - 3, b= 2, and c= - 15. Now, we will follow three steps to graph the function.

  1. Find the axis of symmetry.
  2. Make a table of values using x-values around the axis of symmetry.
  3. Plot and connect the points with a parabola.

Finding the Axis of Symmetry

The axis of symmetry is a vertical line with equation x=- b2 a. Since we already know the values of a and b, we can substitute them into the formula.
x=- b/2a
x=- 2/2( - 3)
Evaluate right-hand side
x=-2/- 6
x=2/6
x=0.333 ...
The axis of symmetry of the parabola is the vertical line with equation x≈0.33.

Making the Table of Values

Next, we will make a table of values using x- values around the axis of symmetry x≈0.33.

x - 3x^2+2x-15 f(x)
- 0.33 - 3( - 0.33)^2+2( - 0.33)-15 - 16
0 - 3( 0)^2+2( 0)-15 - 15
0.33 - 3( 0.33)^2+2( 0.33)-15 - 14.66
0.66 - 3( 0.66)^2+2( 0.66)-15 - 15
1 - 3( 1)^2+2( 1)-15 - 16

Plotting and Connecting the Points

We can finally draw the graph of the function. Since a=- 3, which is negative, the parabola will open downwards. Let's connect the points with a smooth curve.

Finding the x-intercepts

Let's identify the x-intercepts of the graph of the related function.

We can see that the parabola does not intersect the x-axis. Therefore, the equation - 3x^2+2x-15=0 does not have any real solutions.