Solve x^2=3(x-1)^2

To start with, we want to put this into quadratic form, where we have ax^2+bx+c=0. We notice that there are terms on both sides of the equation. So we can expand the right hand side and then bring all the terms to one side. To make it easier to visualise and expand , we can write (x-1)^2 as (x-1)(x-1). If we take RHS as 3(x-1)^2 we have,RHS: 3(x-1)(x-1)=3(x^2-x-x+1)= 3(x^2-2x+1)=3x^2-6x+3
Now we subtract the LHS x^2 from both sides. So 2x^2-6x+3=0. To factorise this we want to find two terms that multiply to make 3 and add together to make six. There is no combination of integers that do this so we use the quadratic equation formula. This gives x=(-(-6)±sqrroot((-6)^2-4(2)(3))/2(2) =(6 ±sqrroot(12))/4. So x=2.37 and x=0.63 (2.d.p)

JU
Answered by Joshua U. Maths tutor

3008 Views

See similar Maths A Level tutors

Related Maths A Level answers

All answers ▸

What is Taylor Series


Susan is researching the population growth of a city. She proposes that x, the number of people in the city, t years after 2017 is given by x=250,000e^(0.012t) A.population in 2017 B.population in 2020 C.During which year would the population have doubled


(ii) Prove by induction that, for all positive integers n, f(n) = 3^(3n–2) + 2^(3n+1) is divisible by 19


Integrate the function y = 2x^2 + 3x + 8 with respect to x.


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2025 by IXL Learning