ASSESMENT 2

16 February 2011

Determine which of the following values of x are the roots of the given quadratic
equations by inspection:

(a) (x + 3)(x - 1) = 0; x = -3, -1, 0, 1, 3

(b) (x - 6)(x + 5) = 0; x = -6, -5, 5, 6

(c) (2x – 1)(x + 4) = 0; x = -4, -1, ½, 2, 4

2 −3 5 3
(d) (2x + 3)(3x – 5) = 0; x = , , ,
3 2 3 5

By trial and improvement, find the roots of the quadratic equations below:

(a) x2 + 2x – 3 = 0
The range of the roots: -5 ≤ x ≤ -2 and -1 < x < 3

(b) x2 - 4x – 21 = 0
The range of the roots: -5 ≤ x ≤ -3 and 6 < x < 9

(c) x2 + 7x – 60 = 0
The range of the roots: -15 ≤ x ≤ -10 and 2 ≤ x ≤ 5