Solve the Quadratic Equation: x² - 3x - 18 = 0

Question

x23x18=0 x^2-3x-18=0

Video Solution

Solution Steps

00:05 Let's find X together.
00:08 We'll break it down using a trinomial approach. First, let's identify the coefficients.
00:14 We're looking for two numbers. Their sum should equal B, which is negative three.
00:19 Next, their product needs to equal C, which is negative eighteen.
00:25 Once we find these numbers, we'll substitute them into parentheses.
00:34 Now, let's find what makes each factor equal to zero.
00:45 And that's how we solve this problem!

Step-by-Step Solution

Let's observe that the given equation:

x23x18=0 x^2-3x-18=0 is a quadratic equation that can be solved using quick factoring:

x23x18=0{??=18?+?=3(x6)(x+3)=0 x^2-3x-18=0 \longleftrightarrow\begin{cases}\underline{?}\cdot\underline{?}=-18\\ \underline{?}+\underline{?}=-3\end{cases}\\ \downarrow\\ (x-6)(x+3)=0 and therefore we get two simpler equations from which we can extract the solution:

(x6)(x+3)=0x6=0x=6x+3=0x=3x=6,3 (x-6)(x+3)=0 \\ \downarrow\\ x-6=0\rightarrow\boxed{x=6}\\ x+3=0\rightarrow\boxed{x=-3}\\ \boxed{x=6,-3} Therefore, the correct answer is answer A.

Answer

x=3,x=6 x=-3,x=6