How can I use the quadratic formula to solve the equation x² + 5x = 0?

To solve the equation x² + 5x = 0 using the quadratic formula, we start by recognizing that this is a quadratic equation in the standard form ax² + bx + c = 0.

In this case, we can identify the coefficients as follows:

  • a = 1 (the coefficient of x²)
  • b = 5 (the coefficient of x)
  • c = 0 (the constant term)

The quadratic formula is:

x = (-b ± √(b² – 4ac)) / (2a)

Plugging our values into the formula:

x = ( -5 ± √(5² – 4 * 1 * 0) ) / (2 * 1)

Calculating the discriminant:

  • 5² = 25
  • 4 * 1 * 0 = 0
  • 25 – 0 = 25

Now substituting back into the formula:

x = (-5 ± √25) / 2

Calculating the square root:

  • √25 = 5

So we have:

x = (-5 ± 5) / 2

This results in two possible solutions for x:

  • 1st solution: x = (-5 + 5) / 2 = 0 / 2 = 0
  • 2nd solution: x = (-5 – 5) / 2 = -10 / 2 = -5

Thus, the values of x that satisfy the equation x² + 5x = 0 are:

  • x = 0
  • x = -5

To summarize, the solutions are:

x = 0 and x = -5.

Leave a Comment