. Find the zeros of the quadratic equation y=6x2+13x+5

. You may use any of the following methods: factoring, square roots, complete the square, or quadratic formula

1 answer

To find the zeros of the quadratic equation \( y = 6x^2 + 13x + 5 \), we can use the quadratic formula:

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

Here, the coefficients are:

  • \( a = 6 \)
  • \( b = 13 \)
  • \( c = 5 \)

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

\[ b^2 = 13^2 = 169 \]

\[ 4ac = 4 \cdot 6 \cdot 5 = 120 \]

Now, we find the discriminant:

\[ b^2 - 4ac = 169 - 120 = 49 \]

Since the discriminant is positive, there will be two real solutions. Now we apply the quadratic formula:

\[ x = \frac{-13 \pm \sqrt{49}}{2 \cdot 6} \]

Calculating the square root:

\[ \sqrt{49} = 7 \]

Now we substitute back into the formula:

\[ x = \frac{-13 \pm 7}{12} \]

This gives us two solutions:

  1. For the positive case: \[ x = \frac{-13 + 7}{12} = \frac{-6}{12} = -\frac{1}{2} \]

  2. For the negative case: \[ x = \frac{-13 - 7}{12} = \frac{-20}{12} = -\frac{5}{3} \]

Thus, the zeros of the quadratic equation \( y = 6x^2 + 13x + 5 \) are:

\[ x = -\frac{1}{2}, \quad x = -\frac{5}{3} \]