Advanced MathHardLarger root of a quadratic with leading coefficient 2
Advanced Math practice question
What is the greater of the two solutions to 2x² − 5x − 12 = 0?
Answer: 4
Factor: (2x + 3)(x − 4) = 0, so x = 4 or x = −3/2. The greater is 4.
Common wrong answers
- If you answered 3
- 3 comes from misfactoring as (2x − 3)(x + 4), which gives 2x² + 5x − 12.
- If you answered 6
- 6 comes from (x − 6)(2x + 2) = 2x² − 10x − 12, the wrong middle term.
- If you answered -1.5
- −1.5 is the smaller solution.
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