Question

How would you solve this problem?

Answer 1

Square both sides to find 2s +8 = s^2 and then subtract so it would be s^2 -2s -8 = 0. Then you factor to get (s-4)(s+2)=0 and get s={-2,4} then you check for answers that are extraneous and find that -2 is an extraneous answer which means s=4

Answer 2

Square both sides:

2s + 8 = s²

0 = s² - 2s - 8

Now factor:

0 = (s-4)(s+2)

s - 4 = 0 OR s + 2 = 0

s = 4 OR s = -2

Since square root cannot be negative, s = -2 is not possible,
so we are left with s = 4