Gabriel was asked to solve x^2 − 36 = 0 by factoring using the difference of squares pattern. What is/are the correct solution(s)

A) x = 6
B) x = 6, x = -6
C) x = -6
D) x = 18, x = -18

1 answer

The equation \( x^2 - 36 = 0 \) can be factored using the difference of squares pattern. The difference of squares states that \( a^2 - b^2 = (a - b)(a + b) \).

In this case, we can rewrite \( x^2 - 36 \) as:

\[ x^2 - 6^2 = (x - 6)(x + 6) \]

Setting this equal to zero gives us:

\[ (x - 6)(x + 6) = 0 \]

This means that either \( x - 6 = 0 \) or \( x + 6 = 0 \). Solving these equations:

  1. \( x - 6 = 0 \) leads to \( x = 6 \)
  2. \( x + 6 = 0 \) leads to \( x = -6 \)

Thus, the solutions to the equation \( x^2 - 36 = 0 \) are \( x = 6 \) and \( x = -6 \).

The correct answer is B) x = 6, x = -6.