Katie is considering using the quadratic formula, while Micah wants to use the factoring method to find exact solutions of 5x^2 – 8x = 7. Using complete sentences, explain who has chosen the better method and why.

Question

anonymous · Answer

Katie because she's cute

anonymous · Answer

I don't want to start between Katie and Micah, but I'd go with Katie because (1) she's usually right; (2) the quadratic formula is a closed-form (guaranteed) method to find the roots regardless of if they're non-integers, irrational, imaginary, or otherwise, whereas factoring only works in cases where factors can be found by inspection; (3) I never liked Micah much ayway.

anonymous · Answer

If you find the roots you'll find they're irrational, so it would be incredibly hard to spot by inspection (factoring method). Just to back up my answer :)