Look at the function below:
Determine for which values of the following is true:
f(x) < 0
Look at the function below:
Determine for which values of the following is true:
f(x) < 0
To solve this problem, we first consider the function . This is a quadratic function, and we can analyze the parabola it represents.
The standard form of a quadratic function is , where in our case , , and .
To determine if the function has any negative values, we first find the vertex of the parabola. The vertex form of a quadratic function is determined by:
Plugging in our values:
.
The -coordinate of the vertex can be found by substituting back into the equation:
.
The vertex of the parabola is , which means the minimum point of the parabola is above the x-axis at .
Next, we assess whether there are any real roots by finding the discriminant :
.
Since the discriminant is negative (), this indicates the parabola does not intersect the x-axis at any real point. Therefore, it never dips below the x-axis.
Given that the vertex is above the x-axis and the discriminant is negative, the quadratic function is never negative for any real .
The function has no negative values.
The function has no negative values.