01-Chap01_001-015.

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Roots of quadratic equations 5

1.2 Manipulating expressions involving

and  1
As you have seen in the last section, given a quadratic equation
with roots  and  you can find the values of    and 
without solving the equation.
As you will see in this section, it is useful to be able to write
other expressions involving  and  in terms of    and .

Worked example 1.4

Given that   
4 and 
7, find the values of:
1 1
(a)   , (b) 22.
 

Notice how the expressions on

2  2
(  )2  2
the RHS contain combinations of
3  3
(  )3  3(  ) just    and .
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6 Roots of quadratic equations

Worked example 1.5

Given that   
5 and 
2, find the values of:
  1 1
(a)   , (b) 3  3, (c) 2  .
   2

Worked example 1.6

Given that   
5 and 
23, find the value of (  )2.

Worked example 1.7

 
Write the expression 2  2 in terms of    and .
 
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Roots of quadratic equations 7

EXERCISE 1B
1 Write each of the following expressions in terms of    and 1
:
2 2 1 1
(a)    (b) 2  2
   
 
(c)    (d) 2  2
3 3
5 5
(e) (2  1)(2  1) (f)   
 

2 Given that   
3 and 
9, find the values of:

 
(a) 3  3, (b)   .
 

3 Given that   
4 and 
10, find the values of:

(a) 2  2, (b) 3 + 3.
4 Given that   
7 and 
2, find the values of:
1 1 2 2
(a) 2  , (b)   .
  2
 

5 The roots of the quadratic equation x2  5x  3
0 are  and .

(a) Write down the values of    and .
(b) Hence find the values of:
 
(i) (  3)(  3), (ii) 2  .
 2

6 The roots of the equation x2  4x  3
0 are  and . Without

solving the equation, find the value of:
1 1  
(a)    (b)   
   
(c)   
2 2
(d) 2  2
(e) (  )2 (f) (  1)(  1)
7 The roots of the quadratic equation x2  4x  1
0 are  and .
(a) Find the values of: (i)   , (ii) .
(b) Hence find the value of:
2 2
(i) (2  )(2  ), (ii)   .
2 2

1.3 Forming new equations with

related roots
It is often possible to find a quadratic equation whose roots are
related in some way to the roots of another given quadratic
equation.
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8 Roots of quadratic equations

Worked example 1.8

The roots of the equation 2x2  5x  6
0 are  and .
1 1
Find a quadratic equation whose roots are  and .
 

equation:

1 Write down the sum of the roots,   , and the product

of the roots, , of the given equation.
2 Find the sum and product of the new roots in terms of
   and .
3 Write down the new equation using
x2  (sum of new roots)x  (product of new roots)
0.
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Roots of quadratic equations 9

Worked example 1.9

The roots of the equation x2  7x  2
0 are  and . 1
Find the values of 2  2 and 22.
Hence, find a quadratic equation whose roots are 2 and 2.

Worked example 1.10

The roots of the quadratic equation x2  5x  3
0 are  and .
Find a quadratic equation whose roots are 3 and 3.
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10 Roots of quadratic equations

EXERCISE 1C
1 The roots of the equation x2  6x  4
0 are  and .
Find a quadratic equation whose roots are 2 and 2.

2 The roots of the equation x2  3x  5
0 are  and .

2 2
Find a quadratic equation whose roots are  and .
 
3 The roots of the equation x2  9x  5
0 are  and .
Find a quadratic equation whose roots are   2 and   2.

4 Given that the roots of the equation 2x2  5x  3
0 are 

and , find an equation with integer coefficients whose roots
are 2 and 2.

5 Given that the roots of the equation 3x2  6x  1
0 are 

and , find a quadratic equation with integer coefficients
whose roots are 3 and 3.

6 The roots of the equation 2x2  4x  1
0 are  and .

Find a quadratic equation with integer coefficients whose
 
roots are  and .
 
7 The roots of the equation 3x2  6x  2
0 are  and .
(a) Find the value of 2  2.
(b) Find a quadratic equation whose roots are 2  1 and
2  1.

8 The roots of the equation 2x2  7x  3
0 are  and .

Without solving this equation,
(a) find the value of 3  3.
(b) Hence, find a quadratic equation with integer
 
coefficients which has roots 2 and .
 2
9 Given that  and  are the roots of the equation
5x2  2x  4
0, find a quadratic equation with integer
1 1
coefficients which has roots 2 and .
 2
10 The roots of the equation x2  4x  6
0 are  and . Find
an equation whose roots are 2   and 2  .

1.4 Further examples

Sometimes the questions may require you to apply similar
techniques to the previous section but without directing you to
find the sum and product of the roots.
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Roots of quadratic equations 11

Worked example 1.11

The roots of the equation x2  kx  28
0 are  and   3. 1
Find the two possible values of k.

1.5 New equations by means of a

substitution
Worked example 1.8 is reproduced below.

The roots of the equation 2x2  5x  6
0 are  and .

1 1
Find a quadratic equation whose roots are  and .
 
Since the new equation has roots that are the reciprocals of the
original equation, the new equation can be found very quickly
1 1
by making the substitution y
 ⇒ x
, which transforms
x y
2 5
2x2  5x  6
0 into 2    6
0.
y y
Multiplying throughout by y2 gives Check the working in Worked
example 1.8 to see which is
2  5y  6y2
0 or quicker.
6y2  5y  2
0.
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12 Roots of quadratic equations

Worked example 1.12

The roots of the equation x2  3x  5
0 are  and .
Find quadratic equations with roots
(a)   3 and   3, (b) 2 and 2.
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Roots of quadratic equations 13

Worked examination question 1.13

The roots of the quadratic equation x2  3x  7
0 are  and . 1
(a) Write down the values of (i)   , (ii) .
(b) Find a quadratic equation with integer coefficients whose
 
roots are  and .
 

EXERCISE 1D
1 The roots of the equation x2  9x  k
0 are  and   1.
Find the value of k.
2 The roots of the quadratic equation 4x2  kx  5
0 are 
and   3. Find the two possible values of the constant k.
3 The roots of the quadratic equation x2  3x  7
0 are  and
. Find an equation with integer coefficients which has roots
3 3
 and .
 
4 The roots of the quadratic equation 2x2  5x  1
0 are 
and . Find an equation with integer coefficients which has
roots   2 and   2.
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14 Roots of quadratic equations

5 The roots of the quadratic equation x2  2x  5
0 are  and

. Find a quadratic equation which has roots 2  1 and
2  1.

6 The roots of the quadratic equation x2  5x  7
0 are  and .

(a) Without solving the equation, find the values of
(i) 2  2, (ii) 3  3.
(b) Determine an equation with integer coefficients which
2 2
has roots  and . [A]
 
7 The roots of the quadratic equation 3x2  4x  1
0 are 
and .
(a) Without solving the equation, find the values of
(i) 2  2, (ii) 3  3.
(b) Determine a quadratic equation with integer coefficients
which has roots 3 and 3. [A]

8 The roots of the quadratic equation x2  2x  3
0 are  and .

(a) Without solving the equation:
(i) write down the value of    and the value of ,
(ii) show that 3  3
10,
1 1
(iii)find the value of 3  .
 3
(b) Determine a quadratic equation with integer coefficients
1 1
which has roots 3 and . [A]
 3
9 The roots of the quadratic equation x2  3x  1
0 are  and .
(a) Without solving the equation:
(i) show that 2  2
7,
(ii) find the value of 3  3.
(b) (i) Show that 4  4
(2  2)2  2()2.
(ii) Hence, find the value of 4  4.
(c) Determine a quadratic equation with integer coefficients
which has roots (3  ) and (3  ). [A]

10 The roots of the quadratic equation x2  3x  2
0 are  and .

(a) Write down the values of    and .
(b) Without solving the equation, find the value of:
1 1 3 3
(i) 2  ,
  2   
(ii)   2   2 .
 
(c) Determine a quadratic equation with integer coefficients
3 3
which has roots   2 and   . [A]
 2
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Roots of quadratic equations 15

Key point summary

1
1 When the quadratic equation ax2  bx  c
0 has roots and : p2
b c
● The sum of the roots,   
; ● and the product of roots, 
.
a a
2 A quadratic equation can be expressed as x2  (sum of roots)x  (product of roots)
0. p2
3 Two useful results are: p5
2  2
(  )2  2
3  3
(  )3  3(  ).
4 The basic method for forming new equations with roots that are related to the roots of p8
a given equation is:
1 Write down the sum of the roots,   , and the product of the roots, , of the given
equation.
2 Find the sum and product of the new roots in terms of    and .
3 Write down the new equation using
x2  (sum of new roots)x  (product of new roots)
0

Test yourself What to review

1 Find the sums and products of the roots of the following Section 1.1
equations:
(a) x2  6x  4
0, (b) 2x2  x  5
0.
2 Write down the equations, with integer coefficients, where: Section 1.3
(a) sum of roots
4, product of roots
7,
(b) sum of roots
54 , product of roots
12 .
3 The roots of the equation x2  5x  6
0 are  and . Section 1.2
Find the values of:
 
(a) 2 + 2 (b)   .
 
4 Given that the roots of 3x2  9x  1
0 are  and , find Section 1.3
1 1
a quadratic equation whose roots are 2 and 2.
 

Test yourself ANSWERS

4 x2  27x  27
0.
6
(b) . 3 (a) 37;
37
(b) 4x2  5x  2
0. 2 (a) x2  4x  7
0;
2 2
(b) sum
, product = .
1 5
1 (a) sum = 6, product = 4;