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jmc

algebra junior

Problem

If , how many possible values are there for ?
Solution
We could use the quadratic formula, but there is a shortcut: note that if the quadratic is not a perfect square, the solutions will be of the form or . In the first case, if both solutions are real, there are 2 different values of , whereas in the second case, there is only one value, since . So all we have to do is check the sign of the discriminant: . Since the discriminant is negative, there are two nonreal solutions, and thus only possible value for the magnitude.
Final answer
1