Complete the square. Fill in the number that makes the polynomial a perfect-square quadratic.

v2 − 2v +

1 answer

To complete the square for the quadratic polynomial \(v^2 - 2v\), we will follow the steps below:

  1. Take the coefficient of \(v\), which is \(-2\).
  2. Divide it by 2: \(-2 / 2 = -1\).
  3. Square that result: \((-1)^2 = 1\).

Now, we add and also subtract this squared value (1) inside the expression to complete the square:

\[ v^2 - 2v + 1 - 1 \]

This gives us:

\[ (v - 1)^2 - 1 \]

Thus, the number that makes the polynomial \(v^2 - 2v\) a perfect-square quadratic is \(1\).

So, the completed expression is:

\[ v^2 - 2v + 1 = (v - 1)^2 \]