Solve the radical equation −7x+4−−−−−−−√=1−x−−−−√+3

.(1 point)
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1 answer

To solve the equation

\[ -\sqrt{-7x + 4} = \sqrt{1 - x} + 3, \]

we first isolate the square root on one side by adding \(\sqrt{-7x + 4}\) and \(\sqrt{1 - x}\) to both sides:

\[ 0 = \sqrt{1 - x} + 3 + \sqrt{-7x + 4}. \]

Now, let's rearrange it to:

\[ \sqrt{-7x + 4} = -\sqrt{1 - x} - 3. \]

Since the square root on the left side is non-negative, the right side must also be non-negative. Thus:

\[ -\sqrt{1 - x} - 3 \geq 0, \]

which implies

\[ -\sqrt{1 - x} \geq 3 \quad \Rightarrow \quad \sqrt{1 - x} \leq -3, \]

which is impossible, because square roots are always non-negative. This indicates that either:

  1. There are no solutions, or
  2. We made a mistake in how we isolated the terms.

Let's square both sides at some earlier point and see if we can solve it that way.

Starting from the original equation:

\[ -\sqrt{-7x + 4} = \sqrt{1 - x} + 3, \]

we can square both sides. Square both sides gives:

\[ (-\sqrt{-7x + 4})^2 = (\sqrt{1 - x} + 3)^2. \]

This simplifies to:

\[ -7x + 4 = (1 - x) + 6\sqrt{1 - x} + 9. \]

Updating gives:

\[ -7x + 4 = 10 - x + 6\sqrt{1 - x}. \]

Rearranging further,

\[ -7x + x + 4 - 10 = 6\sqrt{1 - x} \implies -6x - 6 = 6\sqrt{1 - x}. \]

Dividing by 6 yields:

\[ -x - 1 = \sqrt{1 - x}. \]

Again, we square both sides:

\[ (-x - 1)^2 = 1 - x. \]

Expanding gives:

\[ x^2 + 2x + 1 = 1 - x. \]

Bringing everything to one side gives:

\[ x^2 + 3x = 0. \]

Factoring out \(x\):

\[ x(x + 3) = 0. \]

Thus, we have two potential solutions:

\[ x = 0 \quad \text{or} \quad x = -3. \]

Now, we need to check whether these solutions satisfy the original equation:

For \(x = 0\)

\[ -\sqrt{-7(0) + 4} = \sqrt{1 - 0} + 3 \implies -\sqrt{4} = 1 + 3 \implies -2 = 4 \quad \text{(false)}. \]

For \(x = -3\)

\[ -\sqrt{-7(-3) + 4} = \sqrt{1 - (-3)} + 3 \implies -\sqrt{21 + 4} = \sqrt{4} + 3 \implies -\sqrt{25} = 2 + 3 \implies -5 = 5 \quad \text{(false)}. \]

Since neither solution satisfies the original equation, the equation \(-\sqrt{-7x + 4} = \sqrt{1 - x} + 3\) has no solutions in real numbers.

Thus, the answer to the original equation is:

\[ \boxed{\text{No solutions}}. \]