What is the greatest solution of x in the equation x2+8x−30=18?
Question
What is the greatest solution of x in the equation x2+8x−30=18?
Solution
Step 1: First, we need to rearrange the equation to make it equal to zero. So, we subtract 18 from both sides of the equation:
x^2 + 8x - 30 - 18 = 0
This simplifies to:
x^2 + 8x - 48 = 0
Step 2: Next, we need to factor the quadratic equation. We are looking for two numbers that multiply to -48 and add to 8. Those numbers are -4 and 12. So, we can rewrite the equation as:
(x - 4)(x + 12) = 0
Step 3: Now, we set each factor equal to zero and solve for x:
x - 4 = 0 => x = 4
x + 12 = 0 => x = -12
Step 4: The solutions to the equation are x = 4 and x = -12. Since the question asks for the greatest solution, the answer is x = 4.
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