How do you find the zeros, real and imaginary, of y= -x^2-2x-1 using the quadratic formula?

1 Answer
Dec 26, 2016

There are a double rooth, x = - 1.

Explanation:

Applying the Quadratic Formula, we can obtain the rooth of:

y = - x^2 - 2 x - 1,

solving the equation:

- x^2 - 2 x - 1 = 0.

Remember the Quadratic Formula:

When a x^2 + b x + c = 0, the solutions are:

x = {- b +- sqrt {b^2 - 4 cdot a cdot c}}/{2 cdot a}.

Applying this formula to the equation given, we have:

x = {- (- 2) +- sqrt {(- 2)^2 - 4 cdot (- 1) cdot (- 1)}}/{2 cdot (- 1)} =

= {2 +- sqrt {4 - 4}}/{- 2} = - 1.

Because the discriminant is zero, we have only one solution. In this case, the solution is real.