How do you solve # x^2+3=0#?

1 Answer
Petra H
Jan 6, 2017

Put all the variables on one side of the equal sign, then solve from there.

Explanation:

You want to get all the variables over to one side, so subtract 3 over to the right side. You should then get #x^2=-3#.

You'd then square root both sides to get the simplified version of x.

#sqrt(x^2)=sqrt(-3)#

The square root of #x^2# is simply x, but the #sqrt(-3)# is more complicated, as you can't get the square root of a negative number. You'd have to involve #i#, or the idea of an imaginary number.

(Right now, we have #x=sqrt(-3)#

Because #i=sqrt(-1)#, we could multiply our 3 and #i#.
If #sqrt(-3) = 3*sqrt(-1) = 3i#, then #x=3i#.

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