Question

2x^2+5x+6=0 by completing the square root

Answers

GPT-4o mini
To solve the quadratic equation \( 2x^2 + 5x + 6 = 0 \) by completing the square, follow these steps:

1. **Divide through by the coefficient of \(x^2\)** (which is 2 in this case) to make the coefficient of \(x^2\) equal to 1:

\[
x^2 + \frac{5}{2}x + 3 = 0
\]

2. **Isolate the constant on one side**:

\[
x^2 + \frac{5}{2}x = -3
\]

3. **Complete the square**:
To complete the square, take half of the coefficient of \(x\) (which is \(\frac{5}{2}\)), square it, and add it to both sides of the equation. Half of \(\frac{5}{2}\) is \(\frac{5}{4}\), and squaring it gives \(\left(\frac{5}{4}\right)^2 = \frac{25}{16}\).

Add \(\frac{25}{16}\) to both sides:

\[
x^2 + \frac{5}{2}x + \frac{25}{16} = -3 + \frac{25}{16}
\]

To simplify the right side, convert -3 to sixteenth parts:

\[
-3 = -\frac{48}{16}
\]

So,

\[
-3 + \frac{25}{16} = -\frac{48}{16} + \frac{25}{16} = -\frac{23}{16}
\]

4. **Rewrite the left side as a square**:

\[
\left(x + \frac{5}{4}\right)^2 = -\frac{23}{16}
\]

5. **Take the square root of both sides**:

\[
x + \frac{5}{4} = \pm \sqrt{-\frac{23}{16}}
\]

This gives:

\[
x + \frac{5}{4} = \pm \frac{\sqrt{23}i}{4}
\]

6. **Solve for \(x\)**:

\[
x = -\frac{5}{4} \pm \frac{\sqrt{23}i}{4}
\]

7. **Combine the results**:

\[
x = -\frac{5 \pm \sqrt{23}i}{4}
\]

Thus, the solutions to the equation \(2x^2 + 5x + 6 = 0\) are:

\[
x = -\frac{5 + \sqrt{23}i}{4} \quad \text{and} \quad x = -\frac{5 - \sqrt{23}i}{4}
\]