Question

Solve the quadratic equation numerically (using tables of x- and y- values). -4x=-x2+12

Answer 1

-4x=-x2+12 should be written  -4x=-x^2+12, with " ^ " representing exponentiation.

You are to invent a table of x values and find the difference between -4x and -x^ 2+12.  The smaller the difference, the closer you are to finding the correct root, x.

To get you started:

 x     -4x              x^2+12      difference
--- ------------   ----------------   --------------
 2       -8                 16               24 (pretty bad!)
-4       16                28              12 (better)
 -10   40              112                72 (much worse)

To answer this problem correctly, you must present such a table, even tho' it'd be faster to use the quadratic formula (or some other method) to find x.