Solve the quadratic equation using square roots. (x - 4)^2 = 25

1 answer

To solve the equation \((x - 4)^2 = 25\) using square roots, we start by taking the square root of both sides. This gives us:

\[ x - 4 = \pm 5 \]

Now we can split this into two separate equations to solve for \(x\):

  1. \(x - 4 = 5\)
  2. \(x - 4 = -5\)

For the first equation:

\[ x - 4 = 5 \] Adding 4 to both sides, we get:

\[ x = 5 + 4 = 9 \]

For the second equation:

\[ x - 4 = -5 \] Again, adding 4 to both sides, we have:

\[ x = -5 + 4 = -1 \]

Thus, the solutions to the equation \((x - 4)^2 = 25\) are:

\[ x = 9 \quad \text{and} \quad x = -1 \]

In conclusion, the final solutions are:

\(\boxed{9}\) and \(\boxed{-1}\)