MA 318 Final Exam Study Guide Rachael Calvary Completing the Square (p.91) Begin with an equation in the form , and try to determine what must be added to this expression to make it the square of a binomial. What we must add is . That is, we add the square of half the coefficient of b. To see that this is correct, we simply check that , and is therefore a perfect square. Example: Thus, if one asks what must be added to to make it a perfect square, the answer is or . Now we can verify that is the square of . Example 3.16: Using the method of completing the square, solve the equation . We subtract 1 from each side of the equation to get . We complete the square on the left side by adding 9.
Final Exam Study Guide
MA 318 Final Exam Study Guide Rachael Calvary Completing the Square (p.91) Begin with an equation in the form , and try to determine what must be added to this expression to make it the square of a binomial. What we must add is . That is, we add the square of half the coefficient of b. To see that this is correct, we simply check that , and is therefore a perfect square. Example: Thus, if one asks what must be added to to make it a perfect square, the answer is or . Now we can verify that is the square of . Example 3.16: Using the method of completing the square, solve the equation . We subtract 1 from each side of the equation to get . We complete the square on the left side by adding 9.
Need Help?
We hope your visit has been a productive one. If you're having any problems, or would like to give some feedback, we'd love to hear from you.
For general help, questions, and suggestions, try our dedicated support forums.
If you need to contact the Course-Notes.Org web experience team, please use our contact form.
Need Notes?
While we strive to provide the most comprehensive notes for as many high school textbooks as possible, there are certainly going to be some that we miss. Drop us a note and let us know which textbooks you need. Be sure to include which edition of the textbook you are using! If we see enough demand, we'll do whatever we can to get those notes up on the site for you!