Solve the quadratic equation.

x2+12x+1=0
Write one exact solution in each box. You can add or remove boxes. If there are no real solutions, remove all boxes.

1 answer

To solve the quadratic equation \( x^2 + 12x + 1 = 0 \), we can use the quadratic formula:

\[ x = \frac{-b \pm \sqrt{b^2 - 4ac}}{2a} \]

Here, \( a = 1 \), \( b = 12 \), and \( c = 1 \).

Now, we can calculate the discriminant \( b^2 - 4ac \):

\[ b^2 - 4ac = 12^2 - 4 \times 1 \times 1 = 144 - 4 = 140 \]

Since the discriminant is positive (140 > 0), there are two distinct real solutions.

Using the quadratic formula:

\[ x = \frac{-12 \pm \sqrt{140}}{2 \cdot 1} \]

Now we simplify \( \sqrt{140} \):

\[ \sqrt{140} = \sqrt{4 \times 35} = 2\sqrt{35} \]

Now substituting this back into the formula:

\[ x = \frac{-12 \pm 2\sqrt{35}}{2} \]

This simplifies to:

\[ x = -6 \pm \sqrt{35} \]

Hence, the two solutions are:

\[ x_1 = -6 + \sqrt{35} \quad \text{and} \quad x_2 = -6 - \sqrt{35} \]

You can write the exact solutions in the boxes as follows:

  1. First solution: \( -6 + \sqrt{35} \)
  2. Second solution: \( -6 - \sqrt{35} \)