Question

solve2x^2 =32

Answer 1

first divide both sides by 2 - what do you get?

Answer 2

32 divided by 2 is 16

Answer 3

thats the right-hand-side, what about the left-hand-side of the equation?

Answer 4

2 divided by 2 = 1 right

Answer 5

yes - so what is the resulting equation after dividing both sides by 2?

Answer 6

2^2 =16 right ?

Answer 7

not quite, you started with:\[2x^2=32\]where has the \(x^2\) gone?

Answer 8

oh yes umm we didit solve forx s it would be x^2 = 16 ?

Answer 9

perfect!
no take the square roots of both sides and what do you get?

Answer 10

*now

Answer 11

x = 256 because 16x16 = 256

Answer 12

not quite - you have squared 16 instead of taking its square root.
what number, when multiplied by itself, will give you 16?

Answer 13

4

Answer 14

thats it - well done. so, to summarise the steps, you did:\[2x^2=32\]then divide both sides by 2 to get:\[x^2=16\]then take square roots of both sides to get:\[x=4\]

Answer 15

have been taught that the square root can be negative as well?

Answer 16

*have you been...

Answer 17

yes

Answer 18

ok, in that case the answer should really be:\[x=\pm4\]

Answer 19

hope that makes sense?