How do you solve 3^(x²+4x) = 1/81?

1 Answer
Jul 16, 2015

I found: x=-2

Explanation:

Consider that 1/81=3^-4
so you can write:
3^(x^2+4x)=3^-4
taking the log in base 3 on both sides you get (remembering that log_a(a^x)=x):
x^2+4x=-4
and:
x^2+4x+4=0
Using the Quadratic Formula:
x_(1,2)=(-4+-sqrt(16-16))/2=-4/2=-2