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It's just completing the square, as well as factoring the leading coefficient.
They appear when you factor out 4 after you complete the square. Or before, doesn't matter.
thats the part im not understanding
shouldnt it be 4(x + 4)^2 - 20
i dont know where i went wrong
That is 4x^2 + 32x + 44, so no.
could u walk me through the completing the square process please
Well, first we look at the quadratic and linear term: 4x^2 + 4x. What does the constant need to be for this to be a perfect square?
4? im not sure what that means...
No, not 4.
Remember the usual formula: (a + b)^2 = a^2 + 2ab + b^2.
whoa this is new i never learnt that
You've never learned the square of sum formula?
no i have this different one i think
it is a(x + b)^2 - (1/2b)^2 - c
if that makes sense
take -1 and 4 to other side, use a^2-b^2 = (a+b)(a-b)
Not sure what this is.
We have:
4x^2 + 4x = (2x)^2 + 2(2x)(1)
So, the constant that makes this a perfect square is 1.
Thus, we get:
4x^2 + 4x = (4x^2 + 4x + 1) - 1
Now, apply the square of sum formula.
ahh this is confusing me, is this what im supposed to know at gcse level?
What's gcse?
In any case, the square of sum formula should be something you've learned a while ago, since you're solving quadratic equations.
I mean, you use it to derive the quadratic formula.
sorry man ur confusing me
this is the video i used if it makes what im saying any clearer
https://youtu.be/9_2DYOfHxyk?si=A43O4TxOL4GzCmf2
GCSE Maths revision tutorial video.
For the full list of videos and more revision resources visit https://www.mathsgenie.co.uk
Well, yeah, the video talks about how to solve quadratic equations by completing the square.
Which is what we are doing.
is it not a different method?
Different from what?
your method
There are three main methods of solving quadratic equations:
- Quadratic formula.
- Vieta's formulas.
- Completing the square.
and you were also teaching me completing the square?
how come the video teaches different to what u were saying
I mean, it's barely different. It doesn't matter.
The approach is to identify what constant term we get based on the quadratic and linear terms.
holdon i think i found where i went wrong
would 4(x + 1/2)^2 - 4/2
be correct
idk how to expand that
Nice! So, we have:
4(x + 1/2)^2 - 4/2 = 0
Next, divide everything by 4 and move the constant to the right side.
x = -1/2 +- (root)1/2
Great! Those are the solutions.
i understand now thanks