Find the zeros of the quadratic equation: x^2 - 16x - 13 = 4. Enter the smaller of the 2 values first.

x = ___, x = __

1 answer

To find the zeros of the quadratic equation \( x^2 - 16x - 13 = 4 \), we start by rearranging the equation to standard form:

\[ x^2 - 16x - 13 - 4 = 0 \]

This simplifies to:

\[ x^2 - 16x - 17 = 0 \]

Next, we can use the quadratic formula, which is given by:

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

In our equation \( x^2 - 16x - 17 = 0 \), we have:

  • \( a = 1 \)
  • \( b = -16 \)
  • \( c = -17 \)

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

\[ b^2 - 4ac = (-16)^2 - 4(1)(-17) \] \[ = 256 + 68 \] \[ = 324 \]

Now we apply the quadratic formula:

\[ x = \frac{-(-16) \pm \sqrt{324}}{2 \cdot 1} \] \[ = \frac{16 \pm 18}{2} \]

This gives us two potential solutions:

  1. \( x = \frac{16 + 18}{2} = \frac{34}{2} = 17 \)
  2. \( x = \frac{16 - 18}{2} = \frac{-2}{2} = -1 \)

Thus, the zeros of the equation are:

\[ x = -1, \quad x = 17 \]

Finally, entering the smaller value first, we have:

\[ x = -1, \quad x = 17 \]