Browse · MATH
Printjmc
algebra senior
Problem
Marina solved the quadratic equation by completing the square. In the process, she came up with the equivalent equation where and are constants.
What is ?
What is ?
Solution
Dividing both sides of the equation by , we have The square which agrees with except for the constant term is , which is equal to and thus to .
Therefore, by adding to each side, Marina rewrote the equation as We have and .
Therefore, by adding to each side, Marina rewrote the equation as We have and .
Final answer
81