How do you solve the quadratic equation by completing the square: 4x^2 + 9 = 12x?

1 Answer
Jul 15, 2015

x=3/2 is a "double root" (a root of multiplicity 2 ).

Explanation:

First, rearrange so the x^2 and x terms are on the left and the constant term is on the right: 4x^2-12x=-9.

Next, factor out the coefficient of x^2 on the left: 4(x^2-3x)=-9.

Next, you can either divide both sides by 4 before completing the square or complete the square first. Let's complete the square on x^2-3x first. Take the coefficient of x, which is -3, divide it by 2 to get -3/2, then square this number to get 9/4. Add that number inside the parentheses and balance on the right side of the equation to get:

4(x^2-3x+9/4)=-9+4*9/4=0 (it doesn't usually come out to be zero on the right here, that's just a coincidence).

Once you've done this procedure, the expression inside the parentheses will be a perfect square. In this case, we can write:

4(x-3/2)^2=0

In general, we can now divide both sides by the coefficient in front, which is 4 in this case. Since 0/4=0, we get (x-3/2)^2=0.

Now take the \pm square root of both sides. Since \pm sqrt(0)=0, there is only one equation and one root of the original equation: x-3/2=0 so x=3/2 is a root of multiplicity 2.